A Chipper of a Day

PepsiCo Visit (Demo)

Electro-Technology students spent a day touring the PepsiCo snack food manufacturing facility in Regency Park. They were given access to areas not usually seen by the public including the production lines, packing facilities and logistics.

Highly visible was PepsiCo’s innovative workforce consisting of people working alongside automated solutions and intelligent appliances. The students were amazed with the level of automation including the autonomous forklifts and computer-controlled robotic packing arms. PepsiCo innovation lies not in altering the product but in altering the production and processes around the product.

Fascinated by the computerisation and inquisitive about the end products, students were encouraged to investigate by taste-testing hot unseasoned chips straight off the production line.

It was an amazing experience and opened a whole new world of industry to our students.

“It was fun… the hot chicken Twisties were great.”

“The self-drive forklifts were cool.”

“The conveyor belts which identified everything and the robot arms with the suction on the bottom was great.”

PepsiCo Australia & New Zealand encompasses three business units: The Smith’s Snackfood Company, PepsiCo Beverages and Bluebird Foods, with iconic brands such as Smiths Chips, Red Rock Deli, Twisties, Sakata Rice Crackers, Pepsi Max and Gatorade.