The Sika Experience

The last day of the Sika Experience we visit the Sika plant in Antofagasta.

We observe the processes, quality control and the products stored in warehouse. It was interesting to see how the products we saw applied in field are made in the plant.

This was a great experience and I am very grateful for everything I could learn. It was a unique experience.

One of the things that surprised me most of all visits was the large-scale mining operations, trucks and equipment.

We visited the Saladillo mine of Codelco Andina, the open pit and operations at the underground plant.

Then we traveled to Calama where we visited the Chuquicamata Mine, biggest open pit in the world.

We visited the deserted city of Chuquicamata and observe the plant where the mined material is processed.

We saw, in the field, the application of Sika products in the construction and fortification of tunnels in the new project of the underground mine in Chuquicamata.

Today we went to the “Cono Sur” located in Rancagua. We learned about the winery’s commitment to sustainability through its organically grown products, pest control naturally and actions to decrease their carbon footprint.

We toured the vineyards by bike.

We toured the wineries and tasted the Pinot Noir and Sparkling.

We observed in field the implementation and effectiveness of Sika Dust, a sustainable product, on roads in the vineyards, reducing dust and its effects on pests that damage the crop of grapes.

Today, Montserrat, Jorge, Oscar and I started this journey. Early hours we arrived at Sika facilities in Chile, where we were greeted by the Human Resources Manager, Danilo León. Later, the General Manager, Juan Francisco Jimenez, gave us an introduction and an overview of the company and its goals.

We also had the opportunity to meet a previous winner of Sika Solar Experience, who told us what were their main lessons learned, as well as some tips for this trip.

We took a tour around the plant, where we saw the production processes developed by Sika and meet some of their products as cement additives and bonding and sealing products.

During the day, managers of the four business areas of Sika Chile described its main scopes and relationship with mining. Sergio Wertheim told us about the BU Distribution and BU Industry, Milan Ceric about BU Contractors and Carlos Muñoz about BU Concrete.

Finally, Rodrigo Caballero told us about mining in Chile, particularly about copper mining, its importance and projections.

This was a great first day! I met the rest of the participants and the company representatives with those who we will share the experience. It was about a lot of learning, where we had a first look at this experience. We shared our expectations about this trip. It was a very fun and busy day with a full schedule of activities.

I will continue talking about this Sika Experience Trip Mining Chile the following days, so keep reading!

Thank you Sika!