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Max Apodaca

Max Apodaca is local.  And while he might be a newbie to the Clover team, he is most definitely a local.

He grew up in Forestville, northwest of Petaluma but in the same county. Following high school, he went to Humboldt State University where he played football, majored in kinesiology, and graduated in 2013, looking forward to a career as a teacher.

Known as a place for students with a spirit of adventure and a passion for making a difference in the world, Humboldt State was a good fit for Max. He is passionate about giving back, likes teaching, and has always wanted to “do stuff with health and products for children.” He would love to combine the two with Clover.

Clover moved to Petaluma when Max was growing up. His parents bought Clover products and were a staple in the household.  He started working at Clover in April of 2014, seeing the job as a way to pay off his college loans but his perspective soon changed. He started in an entry-level position in bottling sanitation and became increasingly interested in pasteurization, where he also saw increasing opportunities to move up in the company.

And that he did. Beginning in cleaning up after bottling to keep the operation clean, Max then moved to running the machines and from there became a pasteurizer and a foreman who maintains quality to meet the state inspector’s quarterly check of Clover’s processing standards. It is a position shaped by details that Max knows well:

“Heat up to 178-179 degrees.”
“Cool down to below 45 degrees (36 degrees to 37 degrees).”
“102 gallons per minute.”
“6000 gallons take about an hour.”

Passionate about the importance of pasteurization and Clover’s role in supporting the community, Max would like to combine the two at Clover.  He wants to teach pasteurization, partly because it’s important and interesting but also because of how much Clover has helped him and the community. He’d like to return the favor, because he knows that what Clover does and how Clover does it matters. “Where it all comes from is really nice. I’m really glad to be a part of it.”