Pepsi Mid-America Donates Truck to SIC Diesel Tech Program

Pepsi Mid-America has donated a truck to Southeastern Illinois College for use in the diesel technology program.  SIC diesel student and Pepsi employee, Ryan Phillips, recommended the donation to the director of fleet at Pepsi Mid-America, Laban Roth.

“Rather than sending a truck to scrap, we’d much rather see it go to a good cause.  When Ryan said SIC could use it, I knew that was the better choice,” said Roth.  “Knowing one of our old fleet trucks can be a useful tool to train the next diesel technology students makes it that much better,” said Roth.

Southeastern currently has three Pepsi employees training in the diesel technology program.

Ralph Boots, diesel technology instructor, said the truck, a 2002 International 9100i, will be used for training current and future diesel tech students in different areas, such as diesel engines, electronics, suspension and steering, and HVAC systems, as well as many other systems. 

“The students will benefit from the donation by honing their skill set with specific OEM [original equipment manufacturer] research and making hands-on repairs to all related systems and subsystems of a heavy duty truck,” said Boots.

“The Pepsi family has been a great partner with Southeastern for a long time, and we appreciate this latest gift that will be a tremendous asset to our diesel program,” said Dr. Jonah Rice, SIC president.

For information about Southeastern Illinois College’s diesel technology program, contact an SIC recruiter at 618-252-5400, ext. 2245 or 2325.

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