Today we toured Grob, and it was the most impressive factory I have ever seen. Grob builds CNC machines for a variety of purposes and has a large market share in several spaces. There was an entire warehouse used only for showing off what the machines can do. The rest of the factory consisted of huge machines that were used to make Grob’s machines. There were many warehouses and machines that do specialized things. Many automotive OEMs had sections in the plants where equipment would be made specifically for them. Hoerbiger is hard to compare to Grob because Grob was way bigger and felt more organized. Grob also seemed to definitely take care of their employees and were recruiting us to apply. Grob’s value is in its versatility. They can make machines to do anything. They make a majority of automotive parts across all brands, but many people haven’t heard of them. They make almost all stators (part of an electric motor), for all of the electric car brands, and many transmission parts, cylinder heads, and blocks, and more. Grob feels like the pinnacle of German engineering, precision machines, and a perfected business model.
Another thing I love about Germany is the cars. A majority of vehicles are wagons and or manual (as God intended), with not an oversized pick-up truck or SUV in sight. They are many more trims and models of your favorite brands, and many more brands that are exciting to see. Driving seems to have been effortlessly perfected by the Germans, as roads are faster, safer, and more efficient than in America. Maybe it’s because of the laws or infrastructure, or maybe it’s because they have more respect for the road, but I wish driving in America was like driving in Germany.
We spent the rest of the day going to shops in Augsburg and seeing what was different. The brands felt like they had similar themes as ones in America, and many parallels can be drawn to popular American ones. There are still American influences everywhere, such as McDonald’s and Burger King. Many items in the grocery store originated in America but a lot of it was certainly unique to Germany. There’s plenty of things to try depending how ambitious you are.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures at Grob due to the many high-profile customers they talk to, so here is a BMW wagon instead.
