Central Lee students get inside look at Roquette

KEOKUK – Nineteen students (grades 9-12) and a program coordinator with the Central Lee Extended Learning Program visited the Roquette plant in Keokuk on March 12 for an inside look at the Roquette facility and what the employees do.
Various members of Roquette leadership and staff pulled together to provide the students a fun learning experience, while showcasing the diverse career opportunities at Roquette.
The Central Lee group attended a demonstration of a starch explosion and then separated into three groups to take a bus tour of the facility as well as take part in hands-on activities in both laboratory and industrial maintenance settings. The Quality team led the students through Quality Control analysis requirements for Roquette products, including reducing sugar analysis and reviewing bacteriological cultures. The Maintenance team had the students align a centrifugal pump and motor, actuate manual valves on a test stand, and review lock-out-tag-out examples.
Students also participated in a Q&A session with representatives from different departments within the organization including (but not limited to) Engineering, Safety, Quality, Finance, Purchasing, Customer Care, Continuous Improvement, and Energy/Reliability. The students stated they had a great time and learned new things about Roquette, and they received goody bags that included examples of products containing corn-based ingredients made at the Roquette plant.
Jennie Rose, Keokuk Plant Manager at Roquette, said, “We value investing in the next generation, through scholarships and learning opportunities such as these, and plan to host another group of students from Keokuk High School in late April.”