Hallo! Today was our fifth day in Germany. We started today with our first (and only) group breakfast: a traditional Weißwurstfrühstück. This breakfast is very popular in the Bavarian region, which is where Augsburg is. We drove about an hour out to the village of Baindlkirsch and into a Markt. This Markt serves fresh ingredients (along with a stand for Wurst and Senf), so it is only opened on Thursdays. Needless to say, it is popular with locals and was very packed. At our tables, the Weißwurst was brought out in a bowl of hot water (to keep them warm) and a basket of Bavarian pretzels. There was also Senf on the table, but I did not use it. Intially, I was hesitant with the Weißwurst, as I do not like some types of Wurst, but this type was very good! I even cut it traditionally, with a cut down the middle and several cuts vertically. The Bavarian pretzels were good as well, albeit a bit too salty for me.
Originally, we were supposed to explore Baindlkirsch a bit before the rest of our day began, however, the rainy weather prevented us from doing so. We returned to Augsburg an hour earlier than expected, so we had extra time before visiting today’s company: Forvia. There is actually a plant in Augsburg, so we took the S-Bahn again. Much like our other company visits, we were not allowed to take any pictures within the premises.
Forvia is a company that manufactures car parts, which was reviewed in the general company overview. After that, we were given a tour of the plant, as per usual. Most of the machines we saw were welding machines, and we saw several different lines and saw the step-by-step process for the products since the majority of the firm’s engineers were on shift. The plant was the smallest so far, but nonetheless still impressive. After our tour, we were given a presentation on Forvia’s status on electric vehicles and a new green technology that Forvia is heavily investing into hydrogen fuel. As someone who had never heard about this concept, let alone hearing about the technology before, I found this presentation to be interesting and the concept promising. Our time at Forvia ended with a US representative from Michigan, who gave us detailed information about pursuing a career or even internship in Forvia.
Overall, Forvia seems to be a good position regarding the changing market. Although they do produce car parts for ICEs, the speakers acknowledged that this sector of the industry is declining, their investment in hydrogen fuel technology, along with traditional electric vehicles, Forvia seems to appear resistant to the declining sector. While Forvia did admit that they made the transition later than their competitors, they boasted exclusive contracts with the French government and how their large size will allow them to play catch-up in the long-run, implying their automobile sector will suffer in the short-run. Hydrogen technology is anticipated to be more popular in Europe, which is where Forvia’s main market is. I also noticed that many of the outfits that employees (and us!) and to wear had the name Faurecia on it: Forvia was formed when the French Faurecia and the German Hella combined their expertise. Once again, the tour guide admitted they have had trouble rebranding away from Faurecia, especially internally. As of now, I still believe that Grob is the best positioned out of the three companies visited thus far, Forvia is in the middle, having a good opportunity despite being a bit behind.
After leaving the plant, we had a free time for the rest of the day. After some time and thinking, I went out with my roommate for the trip, Juls, to a vegan restaurant and coffee shop called Nude Food. There, I ordered a chai latte and a bowl made from ingredients from the Bavarian region. Despite being a coffee shop, many different types of cocktails and wine were offered, which I found interesting. By the time we were finished, which was around 8:30, many of the surrounding restaurants and Imbissstands were closed, so we could not go out and grab Eis as originally planned. However, we still had fun. I’m looking forward to our final company visit tomorrow with Audi.
German words used:
Weißwurstfrühstück = White sausage breakfast
Markt = Market
Senf = Mustard
S-Bahn = Street train/bar
Imbissstands = Snack/fast food stands
Eis = Ice cream (in this context)