Today has been the longest day since the start of Plus 3. We got up at 7 and left for the Hoerbiger company visit on a private bus. For the first part of the company visit we had a quick presentation about the company and then toured the Flow Control facility. There were 3 main things we were shown.
The first thing that we were shown on the tour was how the Piezo control valves were made. I thought it was interesting that only one person could run a shift and that almost the entire thing was automated. It was also cool to see all of the units they were producing.
The second thing we were shown were the office spaces. The company had applied some interesting philosophies to their workplace which I thought were cool. They have no walls, even for the CEO. This was to help improve communication between colleagues and to make sure that no one feels uncomfortable approaching anyone else for help. I think this is a pretty smart idea and can definitely help to build a sense of community in the company. In addition, they allow their workers to work from home for 2 days and go to the office 3 days a week and whatever day you want to come in is flexible. In addition, they have wooden boxes that you can stay in for a quiet place either to chat with someone about important business or to work quietly and focus.
The last thing we saw was the massive emergency flow control valves. We got to see the giant springs that were in the machines as well. Each one could have a compression strength of 22 tons!
After visiting the Flow Control facility we went to the automotive facility. There, we had a presentation and a company tour. We were a bit behind schedule so we did have to cut some things short. The automotive sector of Hoerbiger was dedicated to building components for the gear box. Each individual gear part needed a massive machine to cut and bend them into the perfect shape. This would often take 6-7 machine each with their own function. It was quite cool to see all the machinery at work.
After our company tour of Hoerbiger we went to the Laber Bergbahn, which is a gondola that takes us into the Alps. There we scored some amazing group photos and the scenery was magnificent. There were some paragliders there and we stayed for a while. We then went into Oberammergau, which is a small tourist town at the base of the Alps. It’s a lot quainter and more old fashioned than Augsburg. There were cobblestone streets everywhere. You can really feel the German historic culture here. although it does have a lot of tourist shops despite that. I bought a small refrigerator magnet to bring back with me when I go back home. I also ate dinner with Liam, Peter, and Jason and got gelato afterwards, which was really fun. On the two-hour ride back, me Vipin, Jason, and Ben played some geography trivia and before I knew it we were back at the hotel.
The one thing that I want to say about today is that I noticed a extreme lack of water fountains in Germany. In the US, you can get bottled water or tap water practically everywhere. However in Germany, a lot of the water is sparkling or medium sparkling water. They don’t have a lot of still water like we do in the US.