Author: Spencer Thalmayer

Throughout this trip we have been able to see and accomplish so much. One of the many things we have been able to do is tour many different businesses. Here are a few that stood out to me.

The first place that stood out to me was Vermeer. Our tour guild Baaker who showed us around the company was very easy to listen to, and after going through all the businesses that we did he was diffidently my favorite person to listen to. He did a great job explaining so that both engineers and business students could understand. During this tour we were also able to learn about some of the biggest cultural differences of businesses in Europe and the United States. One of them being people in Europe are less afraid to share their ideas 

The next was Gentex which was probably my favorite. Not only was the tour of their facility really cool the provided us with amazing snacks. One thing that stood out to me with Gentex was how excited they were for the future. Another thing that stood out to me was that the plant in Germany was primarily used for distribution and they ship over 300,000 mirrors each day. And each of their customers want the mirror packed and shipped to them differently. 

The last one that really stood out to me was Mercedez-Benz. Being able to see just a portion of this company was amazing. The amount of robots that are being used and the amount of cars that they are able to assemble per day which was 1,800. 

Being able to see all these businesses, the differences between them, and the similarities between them has been really cool and eye opening, it shows that there is not just one way to be successful. You just need to find what is going to make your business or career successful.

Looking back on the trip there has been so many experiences that have helped me better understand the culture in Europe and the way that many Europeans view Americans. There have been many conversations that have been both interesting and educational. Here are some of the conversations that have stood out to me most as I look back on my time in Europe. 

The first one that stands out to me is while eating lunch in Prague. A waitress who spoke very good English came up to us and asked where we were from. We later found out that she studied in New York for a Semester we were able to learn so much about the differences that she sees in Europe and America. One of the main things that she said was that she loves America and Americans, however she did say that many Europeans do feel that Americans only care about success and money.

Another conversation that stood out to me was from Bremen. While sitting at a bar a bartender from Canada started talking to us. She ended up going to Europe for school and has stayed ever since. I asked if she feels that Canadians and Europeans  have the same view on Americans. According to her both Canadians and Europeans think we are greedy. But Europeans also think that Americans come off as rude a lot of the time.

These are just a few conversations that stood out. Having these conversations make me think about what I value, and if the things I value are the things I want to be remembered by.

Before our visit to Mercedes-Benz Lee and I have a quick devotional and some basic information on the plant in Bremen. The Devotional was on if you are a spectator or a participant. Many of us go through our spiritual life, going through the motions. We watch people accomplish Gods mission instead of participating in Gods mission ourselves. It is important to remember that God has given us all gifts so we can participate in Gods mission.

When presenting some of the information that we found on the Bremen plant we didn’t know if what we found was real. According to the google they assemble over 420,000 cars per year which is 1,500 cars per day. We were told when we got their that it is actually 1,800 cars per day because they don’t like to work Saturday or Sunday, because Saturday’s are for pubs and Sundays for church. Beginning this year the facility will manufacture the first electric vehicle of the new product and technology brand, EQ. In the future this plant will produce an entire range of intelligent drive system technologies.