Here in the orange groves of Florida begins one of the most unusual stories of man's imagination and enterprise. The story of vision and invention that brings pure, fresh orange juice to the tables of the world started in 1947, but this round bit of sunshine we call an orange wasn't always here. It is known that oranges were being cultivated in China at least 200 years before Christ. Historians believe oranges were the golden apples of Greek mythology. Columbus brought the fruit from Spain to the New World on his second voyage of discovery. Later the English planted oranges along the southern trade routes so that English sailors could include the beneficial citrus in their diet. Unknown at the time, it was the precious vitamin C content that helped to control scurvy, the sailor's sickness. From the tiny trees brought to America so long ago developed the abundance that today stretches to the horizon--row upon row of carefully tended groves that flourish in this mild, subtropic climate. Citrus in Florida is the state's major agricultural industry. Producing orange groves cover more than 480,000 acres. There are over 30 million bearing trees, and 23 million young trees that will become productive within the next few years. Warm air rising from hundreds of natural lakes throughout the citrus producing area gives the trees protection from occasional cold winds during the winter and furnishes water for irrigation during dry weather. Citrus trees begin to produce commercially at 5 to 7 years of age, and their productive life depends on the care given them. As long as they are properly fertilized, sprayed and pruned they will produce for many years. There are still trees bearing in Florida that are over 100 years old. As the season begins, Tropicana, the largest single user of Florida citrus, is jammed with incoming gondola trucks from groves throughout the area. The fruit has been selected for quality and, of course, picked only when ripe. The arrival of each truckload marks the beginning of a continuous cycle of activity that carries this health-giving Florida juice to the tables of all America and the foreign lands as well. The first operation sets the pattern for the entire process--cleanliness. As the fruit is conveyed along endless belts, stiff brushes scrub the outer skin as jets' spray washes each orange thoroughly. The fruit is lifted to a higher level on elevators. It is then routed to tables where inspectors check for any fruit not meeting high standards. As the oranges are carried to the juice extractor they are routed according to size to machines that will fit them exactly. Oranges are squeezed as soon as possible to capture the peak flavor. These amazing machines are operated in such a manner that none of the peel or skin is pressed with the juice. Compressed air determines the precise amount of pressure used to extract the juice. From the extracting machines, the juice is carried through stainless steel pipes to the chilling tank. This instant chilling preserves the peak fresh flavor of the pure orange juice. The juice then goes into cold wall tanks for temporary storage before continuing on to the filling operation. Just prior to filling, the juice is pasteurized and immediately re-chilled to retain that ever-important flavor. Now delicious chilled orange juice is ready for the families of the world, produced by Tropicana, packed in convenient cartons, and distributed through dairies and food stores. Tropicana has its own quality control laboratory operating around the clock, responsible for examining juice from every production line. This constant vigil guarantees that all products are of the finest quality and produced under strict sanitary conditions. Research leading to new and improved methods of manufacture and new uses of citrus and its byproducts is the responsibility of this laboratory. Here, flavor research is in a continual state of advancement and a constant effort for product improvement. A federal inspection laboratory is also located at the plant so that no detail is overlooked to ensure uniform quality and purity. A United States Department of Agriculture inspector pulls a sample from the line every 30 minutes. It is then taken to an adjacent laboratory and tested to make certain it meets Department specifications. Any question and the line is shut down immediately until the fault is corrected. Although the carton remains a consumer favorite in a number of markets, most Florida chilled orange juice is now sold in glass bottles. Tropicana is the only citrus processor operating its own glass manufacturing plant, one of the largest container glass furnaces in the world. The glass plant continues operation 24 hours a day year-round. It provides a constant supply of bottles of the proper size, strength and quality. The bottles enter a [kneeling?] ovens called lairs, where they are tempered by re-heating. After cooling, they are boxed for safe delivery to the bottling lines in another part of the plant. Here, the pure orange juice is packaged under vacuum in a sterile bottle. Even the cap is sterilized. Tropicana originated the vacuum-packing concept to greatly extend the shelf life of pure orange juice while retaining its fresh flavor. The bottled juice, now ready for shipment, is sealed in cartons and automatically stacked on forklift pallets ready for loading. The loading ramps are arranged for the most efficient use of forklift trucks for freight car and truck operations. Modern rail transport serves the nation from Florida, and Tropicana's great white train--a mile of snow-white refrigerated cars--is the only regularly scheduled unit train in food industry history. It ensures fast and efficient delivery from Florida to northern markets. By-products are an important business, and in today's modern plants no part of the orange is going to waste. The seeds, peel and rind which remain after the juice has been extracted are dehydrated in modern giant driers and converted into cattle feed, one of the most important by-products of the industry. Cooked to temperatures designed to improve food value, flavor and aroma, citrus pulp has been widely accepted and is used primarily by dairy herds because of its excellent milk-producing characteristics. Huge bulk storage warehouses make possible a year-round supply to customers, a very important service to dairymen. Efficient bulk loading into company tankers and railroad cars keep shipping costs to a minimum. Incidentally, air and water pollution have been practically eliminated at Tropicana. Evaporators, each 92 feet high, emit steam, which instantly dissipates into clear Florida air. These stacks a re periodically monitored to ensure that smoke, particulate matter and even smell are removed from the emission in accordance to strict pollution codes. Extracted water is also purified in this section and recycled back into the system. The evolution of the orange juice industry has been phenomenal. In the early days, oranges were available only in their natural state. They were shipped in boxes to be sold in northern markets and squeezed by hand for the flavorful juice. Canned orange juice made juice available on a year-round basis but the flavor left something to be desired. Then in the 1945-46 season, frozen concentrated orange juice was developed by citrus research men. Simply by mixing this concentrate with water, a housewife could conveniently make delicious orange juice anytime of the year. That first year, 250,000 gallons were produced. Today, up to 180 million gallons are produced annually. By the 1970s Tropicana had developed new plastic containers to package their concentrate. Tropicana maintains their own plastic container fabrication plant to ensure quality control and efficient, continuous production. These plastic containers are made under conditions of absolute cleanliness. The unique plastic pure juice container was also marketed for individual servings. The chilled juice could be served directly from the unbreakable container and is ideal for schools, hospitals and even aircraft, where storage is a problem and easy serving a necessity. In order to ensure proper packaging and sturdy shipping enclosures, Tropicana also has its own box factory. From giant rolls of paper, corrugated cardboard is fabricated at a dizzying rate. This cardboard is then cut, punched, folded, printed, stamped and stacked automatically to provide containers for practically every Tropicana product. By controlling container manufacture, the proper delivery schedules can be guaranteed with complete independence of outside sources. Another of Tropicana's innovative ideas was freezing blocks of pure orange juice. The frozen blocks are wrapped in plastic to store in a cold room held to 25 degrees below zero. These are available to be thawed and blended with other juice when breaks in seasonal picking slow production. This method, approved by the Pure Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture, means pure orange juice for year-round delivery. Through man's ingenuity, one of Nature's most delicious fruits can now be enjoyed as a health-giving beverage anywhere, every day of the year. Florida sunshine and rich soil combine to create the world's greatest citrus industry. And now Florida orange juice is brought to the tables of the world in all its golden goodness--truly bottled sunshine. How about that? Wasn't that a juicy story?