Koa

A personal note from Mira, Quality Manager at Koa

“Like every other member of our new factory project, I have never planned a cocoa fruit factory before. Our project started theoretically when we drafted the layout on paper. We used the learnings from our first factory in Akrofuom which, however, is tiny in comparison to the new one. So, we needed to answer questions that have quite different dimensions. What rooms do we need? Which machine goes where? How do we make sure we have an efficient process flow? I found the mental leap quite challenging, to only work with drawings or 3D images and not be able to test the layout in reality.

And suddenly, it got very real. After planning for months, I visited the construction site last November with the two project coordinators Elvis and Alejandro. Having seen the layout hundreds of times, I only really could imagine how the factory looks once I stood on the ground seeing the foundation. I took a walk along the 140 Meters where the longest wall will stand and then I continued through the “imaginary” rooms to let the feeling sink. Yep, that was impressive realising what our small project team has achieved so far.

While enjoying this feeling, I’m aware that there will be more challenges. Even during the visit, we discussed if the plans need some last-minute changes. Some improvements might even need to wait until the factory is put into operation. This requires time and patience which we need to allow ourselves.

We eventually walked across the entire property to the border of the land. We found a beautiful and calm spot in the green, perfect to slow down the mind when the thoughts go around in circles. Maybe we’ll build a small bench here one day, what do you think?”