During the Spring 2018 semester, then-IE students Sofia Maria Smith and Neale Moore's (both BSIE 2018) Capstone team developed a concept and studied materials needed for improving feminine protection products for Fine Hygienic Holding (FHH) in Amman, Jordan. Their Capstone project really impressed FHH owner, New Category Manager and alumnus Elia G. Nuqul (BSIE 2013), son of alumnus and FHH Chairman Ghassan Nuqul (BSIE 1983 & a 2016 Outstanding Industrial Engineer) and grandson of FHH founder Elia Nuqul. So he invited them to present the project to the company's executive board in Jordan after graduating in May.

In June 2018 Smith and Moore traveled to Jordan with Dave Kotterman, IE Industry Relations Director, to present their project deliverables to the FHH executive board. (The three other team members, Stevie Jo Gregoricka, Ana Paula Tenorio Vivanco and Huizi Shao, were unable to make the trip.)

This Capstone project had started when Elia Nuqul visited IE in the fall of 2017 and discussed how the school might collaborate with his company. Kotterman suggested a Capstone project. Nuqul agreed, and when he returned to Jordan he researched possible ideas. The IE students then worked with Kotterman and Dr. John Howarter of Materials Engineering to find potential materials to use in redesigning feminine hygiene products for the company. In the Middle East, FHH is an industry leader that continues to build success in new product development and hygienic solutions, selling hygienic and paper goods as well as other products.

"This project could impact millions of women in the Arabic world and North Africa," Kotterman explained.

He is excited about Purdue IE's further involvement in this project because it's an excellent opportunity for students to collaborate with international IE alumni, it shows the far-reaching impact of Purdue IE, and is a different type of Capstone project - more involved in product development than in process improvement.

Further steps will depend on how FHH's executive board wants to proceed with the Capstone project team's ideas. Nuqul believes that if this project is successful, FHH and Purdue IE will be able to collaborate on many more Capstone projects.

"The trip to Amman was an extraordinary opportunity for the seniors, and it's indicative of what can be accomplished by our students," said Kotterman. "I'm thankful for the relationship with the Nuqul Group and interdisciplinary nature of this project. The future looks bright for more collaboration between IE and FHH and I'm looking forward to what we can do together."

The Nuqul Group was so pleased with the Capstone results that one of its startup companies, WashyWash, sponsored an additional capstone project during the Fall 2018 semester. 

"We were tasked with increasing the operational efficiency among numerous decentralized dry-cleaning facilities in and around the city of Amman that utilize the green 'EcoClean' technology," explained Kotterman. "Mr. Nuqul visited us in December 2018 and met with the team. He said the team produced great work and recommended improvement steps specific to one facility that can be equally deployed across many other facilities with similar layouts and product flows."

This second Capstone team (WashyWash) included Erin Suttles, Marco Manoppo, Patrick Limerick, Sijia Feng, and Yan Wang.

Writer: DeEtte Starr, starrd@purdue.edu