Today was a little bit more relaxed than some of the other day. We had three goals: 1) visit the company Gentex, 2) get lunch and explore Ulm, and 3) arrive at our hotel in Landsberg am Lech. After a short drive on the autobahn, we arrived in Erlenbach, the location of the German facility of the Gentex Corporation. The home of Gentex is Zeeland, MI and the company specializes in mirror and vision systems for automobiles, windows for aircraft, and smoke alarms. The facility in Erlanbach provided Gentex a localized presence with the major German automakers, allowing them to work closely with them on new designs. We had a brief introduction to the company and then the class was divided into 3 groups, one to hear about future product ideas, one to see how the distribution of parts from Zeeland happens, and one to test drive some of the new concepts. It was a great visit!
We then left for Ulm, the home of the tallest cathedral in the world. It was a bit rainy and so students could only climb up part of the way to the top. Ulm was also a place to get lunch and do a little shopping. We arrived at our hotel in Landsberg am Lech where we were treated to a wonderful buffet of German food. We then had time to discuss our experiences of the past several days.
