November 14 and 15, Germany

On the 14th and 15th of November 2007 the UNITECH Local Chapter (LUC) Germany together with LUC Switzerland and Netherlands spent two exciting days in Schweinfurt visiting the SKF facilities.

After a very warm welcome by Wolfgang Sutterlüti and his colleagues, especially Alba and Liesbeth, two UNITECH Alumni, we have seen presentations about SKF’s business and its growing markets, followed by an interesting guided tour round the factory of large size roller bearings. The first day ended with a cold but nice city tour and a splendid German dinner at a genuine Bavarian brewery; local drinks included. 

Snowflakes and sun started another exciting day with two presentations regarding SKF’s experiences in Asia and the creation of new business opportunities in the aftermarket. Another highlight was a game called World Café which allowed us to exchange our experiences and new perceptions regarding SKF and gave them the chance to hear our thoughts and opinions about the characteristics of a preferred employer.

We had a really great time in Schweinfurt and many of this year’s students took the opportunity to discuss Internship possibilities. The event was very well organized and interesting. It’s nice to see that SKF puts so much effort into integrating the company in the UNITECH network!

SKF meets UNITECH:
Do you realize that you are surrounded by bearings right now?

Dear Alumni,

You may or you may not have been one of the 35 chosen that had a VIP visit to Schweinfuhrt the 14th and 15th of November. If you are one of those, you will definitely feel enriched by the professional world that opened itself to you those days. If you are unfortunately not one of them, we can definitely recommend you to get to Schweinfuhrt as fast as you can. As a Unitech community, of course we would like to share our experiences with you. What follows now is an overview of the highlights and learning experiences we gained these days:

For most of us, the trip started like a Walt Disney movie. Through a tunnel of thousands of snowflakes, cars filled with enthusiastic students started their journey from Delft, Zurich and Aachen. In these cars, you could hear hopeful and idealistic voices speaking about their dreams and wishes in the most important languages that the European Union counts.

The visit to SKF started by a traditional German lunch. Some good schweinefleis quickly filled the empty student stomaches, and the luxurious chocolates of neighboring country Switzerland pleased our tongue receptors. We were given an absolutely warm welcome by SKF people from all over the world. Former Unitech students that had found a happy home as SKF colleagues came together here in Schweinfuhrt, to give their international guests this warm welcome. The afternoon was filled with very interesting and professional presentations, ranging from stories about life at SKF, to acquisitions in China. Much emphasis lied in an explanation of the business model of SKF, which contains lots of added value by the professional and high quality services in consulting and support by the sales force. The presentations gave as well a profound explanation about the ethics, the culture, the values and the vision of SKF. Most students shared their begeistering about the professional presentations, and the pleasant discovery of the SKF culture. The first afternoon was followed by a factory tour in the plant that produces large seize bearings. In this factory, the participants made important disvoceries. What you probably do not know namely, is that at this moment you are surrouned by bearings. They are literarily everywhere, in seizes from up to 8 meters to the ones that make you fly over the highway when you are wearing your inline skates. As if this afternoon program had not been enough, the first day was followed by a guided tour through the romantic city of Schweinfuhrt, and a dinner in a traditional Schweinfuhrter restaurant. And as a bonus of this day, we even had a great time when discovering that we could even experience some latin culture in the Schweinfuhrter salsa club. What a day what a day….

The next day was just as good as the first one. This time, we had professional and interesting presentations about acquisitions in China, and how SKF managed to respect and even to strategically use cultural differences in working together with Asian companies. This was a presentation that definitely would have enchanted David Ward and Alexandra Schwarz. The next presentation was as well so professional that I would immediately sign up if the speaker would offer a course in presentation techniques. After our last Schweinfurhter lunch, the SKF colleagues organized a ‘World Café’; which demonstrates the SKF initiatives in bringing starters and people with different cultural backgrounds together. During this World Café, the participants shared their impressions, ideals and dreams with the SKF colleagues. The conclusion of these discussions were just as positive as I am trying to reflect in this article.

And this my friend, was the end of the Schweinfuhrt adventure. As you may have read, it was a very good experience. These two days definitely inspired people, and who knows more to what they may lead…….

SKF, thanks a lot for this great initiative!!!