We started out our day at Grob. It was really interesting to see just how big the facility was! One of my favorite parts about Grob is that they make all of their own machines, then use their machines to make the parts as well. Most companies either make the machines and sell them, or buy machines and make the parts in-house. Another interesting thing is all of their machines look the same on the outside but have different moving parts inside.
Seeing the different facilities at Grob was also intriguing. They produce parts for different companies, such as Tesla, and each facility looked completely different from one another. It is neat that even though all of the companies are in the same industry, they are requesting to do different things with the machines Grob builds for them.
After Grob, we made our way back to Augsburg to tour Forvia. While all of the companies we visited were interesting in their own ways, I think Forvia was my favorite. Forvia makes parts for companies such as Porsche and John Deere. Everything from the exhaust valve to the materials on the seats. The best part of this tour was getting to hear the Porsche revving sound in the testing of the parts. It echoed through the facility! It was also really interesting to see how they have the supply chain inside their facility to make one part. There is also only one operator for this chain, the part begins and ends in the same spot with the worker.
These days are flying by, I can’t believe it is already day 4. I am slowly learning my way around Augsburg, both walking and taking the tram. It has been so fun trying new places – today I tried Wolfe, a little bakery in town after we got back to the hotel for the evening. I also walked around the grocery store and bought a few new things to try, and a few things I know I like. I’ll definitely go back to bring some candy home! Tschüss!!