Today we took a trip to Vassiliko port to visit the companies housed there. One company we visited, Vassiliko Cement works, is a great example of vertical integration. At the Vassiliko port, this company processes limestone and clay to create cement. This process begins at the quarry where these raw materials are gathered. Vassiliko Cement works owns two limestone, two clay, and one gypsum quarry. Once these materials are collected at the quarry, they are brought by the company’s trucks to the port. At the port, these rocks are then crushed, blended, and heated, forming first clinker and then cement–the two main products sold by this company. The process of making cement has a total of about ten steps, for which the company owns each machine required to complete. Once the products are completed, they are sold in house or shipped abroad. Any additional materials needed to create the cement–such as fuel–are shipped through the Vassiliko port, which is owned by the company. Their products are also shipped out of this port and loaded onto boats using their own machines. Therefore, Vassiliko Cement Works is vertically integrated because it owns each part of its supply chain process from raw materials to sale, excluding only some modes of transport such as the boats and tugboats used in the port. 

After our trip to Vassiliko port, we got a chance to hear from a representative from the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI) and learn about the research they complete there. I found their research into noise pollution in the ocean particularly interesting. When it comes to boats and marine research, noise is an important factor to consider because it can disturb fish, affecting the natural ecosystem and disrupting data. CMMI has been working on products that can both measure noise pollution in the ocean and complete research while not contributing to noise pollution. I have a lot of respect for their research and am so glad we got the opportunity to visit. We also visited the Church of St. Lazarus and Hala Sultan Tekke, a mosque dedicated to Hala Sultan who is an important Islamic figure in Cyprus. I really enjoyed the opportunity to visit these religious sites and continue to learn more about both the influence of the Orthodox church and Islam on the island.