Within this post you find pics of the factory which is super clean compared to some I have actually worked in back in Canada. Being an operations guy I was pleased to find books on Lean manufacturing, Just in time, 6 sigma and other manufacturing process in their library and as the factory is an IS09000 certified facility I am sure they're up to date with the contemporary manufacturing process used by the top manufacturers in the world; the typical rider may not appreciate all this stuff but it translated into the quality of the product thats produced.So the workday ends and we go out for Chinese hotpot which is really good but for these little devils in the hotpot. Basically they're these round peppers that if you get in your mouth as soon as it touches your tongue it goes completely numb in that location. I've never experienced anything like it and don't know what the pepper is but best to spit it out or else it could wreak havoc... imagine the other end going numb!?!
I suppose it adds flavor to the hotpot or why put them in; it was neat to experience the numbness and the metalic aftertaste but once is enough.Driving home we nearly hit a wild dog which apparantly are all over the place. They wander the streets looking for food and it looks like they have pretty good success cause the next pack of three we saw looked well fed but one had a distinct limp probably due to a car hitting hit. This is just not something you'd ever see in Vancouver so it struck me as a little strange. In fact Taoyuan, a city south of Taipei feels very familiar to Vancouver [which is a very multicultural city with a massive asian population] but there are these little oddities that present themselves from time to time that remind me of its uniqueness.
One of the cool things that I really wanted to do with this blog is give the reader a little taste of what its like to work and toil away in the industry.
You guys only get to see the glossy magazine pics and editorials of the tradeshows but don't get a chance to see some of the other neat things that happen in the background. One of the cool things that comes with my position is I have to travel and although it can be a pain in the ass it's also a great chance to immerse yourself in the countries culture far deeper then someone who just goes on vacation to the same place. The amount of time you spend working in the different country is porpotional to the amount of insight you'll gain into that culture. Its bloody hard sometimes navigating your way through a different language both written and verbal as well as just navigate your way around the country, but inevitably you manage.
For example imagine your alone, you've just gotten off your airplane and are in Frankfurt Germany. There's a train you need to catch in 1 hour - you bought the ticket in Canada on the internet - and you walk from the airport terminal to the train terminal which is near the main building.
Upon arriving on the train platform you look for a sign or anything that matches your ticket but you can't find anything. You start staring at these giant maps of Germany trying to make heads or tails and finally you just ask someone and they tell you that your ticket is for an intercity train that leaves from the main station not this one. You need to walk to the other side of the airport to catch a commuter train into downtown Frankfurt to catch the right intercity train - commuter trains use different stations and platforms then the intercity trains. Upon arriving at this new commuter train station you stare at the ticket dispensing machine with all these buttons and a screen you can't read the language so you just start hitting buttons and after about 15 minutes out pops a ticket that your not sure if its what you want or need. Hmmmn now which commuter train do I need to get onto, so again you need to find someone who speaks English, which thankfully isn't too hard in Germany and you get pointed in the right direction.
They say you need to get off at the station that says Frankfurt Main and the first station you pass says Frankfurt Main but it can't be it cause its in the middle of nowhere so you stay on the train only to pass another station then another and you keep thinking the clock is ticking and where you're gonna buy a new train ticket cause you're obviously going to miss the train to Friedrichschafen you bought a ticket for earlier.
Ah finally you roll into something that looks like it could be the main station and its confirmed by the sign, so you exit the train to behold all these platforms and signs all over the place. How the heck are you going to find your train in this mess.
Eventually you figure out to go to a whole different level, find what looks like your train, you make the correct transfer in Ulm to a new train and bam after a bus ride you're at the Eurobike show. Traveling with someone can be an adventure, traveling alone can be a whole other level of adventure, but traveling alone where no one speaks your language and you can't even read the language can be just plain scary.
This is a similar scenario that plays out with virtually all manufacturers at some level by CEOs, product managers, engineers, sales people, and others doing business in the global market. Whether its tradeshows, developing new products, or figuring out production issues its all part of the game. Its really cool if you can get time to get a ride in at the sametime too.
