Today we visited Vassiliko cement works which has been a public company since 1963 serving as one of the biggest exporters of concrete. The Vassiliko plant is very extensive and is the largest heavy industry in Cyprus. The strategic location of this massive exporter at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa is something very interesting to note.
We were walked through the process of creation and learned how cement is the active ingredient in concrete.
The cement plant owns 5 types of queues and it was interesting to see how much of a hold this single company has on global supply chain as cement is the second most consumed resource in the world behind water.
The Vassiliko port is the only industrial port in Cyprus that operates 24/7. Because of this, many third parties use this port and its serves about 300 ships a year.
Between our two company visits we had a taste of traditional cypriot fish Maze. We all ended up trying food we had never even seen before and i learned how much I like cuddle fish! In American many people don’t like to work for their food or see their food in its natural state. At lunch we were served full fish with bone, scales, and all. It was really interesting to see how they severed it and fun to try.
We then saw Mediterranean Shipping Company; Shipping is the engine of global trade and vital to the progress of any country. MSC raw materials and accounts for 7% of GDP. They are the biggest ship in management hub in Europe and fifth in the world. They work with over 200 companies with about 5000 people on Shore an over 55,000 on ships. Mediterranean shipping Company has expanded into the cruising industry and air cargoes. They shared with us how they grew to their massive ship fleet and even developed the biggest ship in the world, Irina.
The data analytics side of a company like this, because of their massive role in the global supply chain, is insanely complex. Their ship tracking system contract any ship in any fleet real time providing details of anything you would need. This was really interesting to see because we have been learning about how much of an impact they have on world trade so its really important to see how they maintain control of such a massive range of ship and how they stay responsible and accountable to the world.
