Got Milk?

Many times, we tend to take things for granted without realizing all of the hard work that goes into them. Today, our group traveled to Dos Pinos Dairy Farm. Dos Pinos is a cooperative that was founded in 1947 which sits on 38 hectares of land. They work alongside 1,400 different producers, which is an extreme increase from the 25 producers working together during the early years of the company´s existence. This plant specifically handles 600 different products, but their main product is milk. As the company grows and expands, so does their amount of land. They recently purchased a plant in Panama, mainly because of the close proximity it has to Costa Rica, as well as the fact that Panamanians are very familiar with Dos Pinos products. This is an important decision for the company because it means that they are keeping up with the competition. According to our tour guides, their main global competitors include Nestle and Coca-Cola. Luckily for Dos Pinos, their annual sales of $672 million keep them competitive enough to take on these large retailers.

When we first drove onto the property, we were greeted by silos and tanks, which we later learned are responsible for holding milk, chocolate, and juice that are used in production. As we drove further, we learned about all of the different loading docks and the purposes of each one. The first set of doors are for the short-life products, such as sour cream and milk, the next set were for ice creams, and the final set of doors were for long-life products which can last anywhere between 6-8 months. After learning about long-life products, I think our group was shocked to hear that milk could sit on a store shelf and last for almost a year! This is a product that is seen rarely in the U.S. because it is such a strange concept for people to grasp, but it is becoming more popular and is much more profitable for the companies. These doors are a crucial part of business at Dos Pinos because they are the center of where packaging and products come together. Once trucks are finally loaded, the company is ready to send out their products to the 15 countries that they export to, with China being the most recent addition. The logistics of this company are handled very well and efficiently to ensure that their products reach the consumers in a timely fashion.

This is an example of a tank at the plant.

When we entered the actual facility, we began to learn about the products and what it takes to get from beginning to end. Dos Pinos works with approximately 1,600 different farms which is where they get their milk from. They milk the cows twice a day using an automatic process, which ensures that the most milk possible is being used. Once the milk is taken from the cows, the drivers of the trucks make sure an antibiotic test is done on it to ensure that the milk is safe; sometimes, cows may be sick so they are given antibiotics. In this case, they cannot be milked for at least two weeks until it is fully out of their system. After the milk is taken, it is stored in tanks which are kept at 4 degrees Celsius. From there, the trucks transport the milk to Dos Pinos where the truck is then washed and weighed. Smaller trucks can typically hold up to 12,500 liters whereas larger trucks are capable of holding 30,000 liters of milk. If there is ever an issue with the milk, the producer must pay a fine for the truck full of bad milk. This fine could be anywhere from $.70 to $1 per liter, which would not be easy to recover from for some of the farms that are using the larger capacity trucks! Mostly, the milk is of good quality so the producer is actually given a bonus. There are three different types of milk that are used; A (normal), E (excellent), and P (premium). The milk from Dos Pinos is 98.5% premium, which is a great achievement for them. 

This picture describes the process the milk takes to get to the consumer.

The trucks play a major role in the movement of the products. Trucks are washed out thoroughly from the inside everytime they empty their contents, and can be used for up to 10 years. This business is extremely demanding for these truck drivers, as they have to arrive to work at 3 a.m. each morning. The producers do not have much time for relaxation either, as they must have the milk ready at 2 a.m. each morning. (That makes me feel pretty guilty about complaining that my 8 a.m. classes are too early!) The reason for this is because the morning tends to have cooler temperatures and a fresher climate for the milk. At the plant, there are 8 tanks; 4 of those contain whole milk, and 4 contain pasteurized/homogenized milk. When the milk enters the plant, it goes through the process of pasteurization, which was created by Louis Pasteur and involves dramatically changing temperatures to remove any bacteria from the product, and homogenization, the mixing of the milk, before it is sent out. During the process, the cream is taken out of the milk, and fat is then added as it is packaged. Dos Pinos operates with three different levels of milk; they use 3.5% fat (whole milk), 2% fat, and 0% fat. To illustrate the severe temperature change, during the ultra-pasteurization process, the temperature changes from 138 degrees Celsius to 4 degrees Celsius in just 5 seconds.

This photo shows a test being done on a truck at the plant.

Dos Pinos is an impressive company that certainly opened all of our eyes to how much work goes into something that we simply pick off of a grocery store shelf on a regular basis. The 3,150 employees at this location, and the 50,000 total employees work very hard to provide people all over the world with a safe, high quality product. Their social projects which involve safer, more environmentally-friendly containers and products, as well as food banks, make Dos Pinos a company that will stay competitive for a long time with a very bright future. I think that everyone´s favorite part of the visit was getting to try some of their own ice cream, as well as the fact that we all got a stuffed animal cow bank of Dos Pinos´ mascot, Lula! Having the chance to see this impressive business operation first hand was a great way to end our amazing stay here in Costa Rica!