KU Leuven & Kraft Foods

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Day 4 – KU Leuven Lectures & Kraft Foods

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

Today our morning began with the usual European continental
breakfast that included croissants, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, and lunch meat at
our hotel.  Next, we headed over to the
University for our first day of lectures from the School of Business and
Economics. The first lecture given by Professor Marnik De Kimpe focused on
retailing strategies in the European Union. 
The lecture included engaging discussions on differences between
retailing in the EU versus the US.  Our
second lecture by Professor Roger Blanpain discussed European Labor Issues and
the role of globalization in the world today. 
Both lectures provided excellent background information and prepared us
for issues we will encounter the rest of the trip and in our projects.

After our lectures, the majority of the class enjoyed using
the computers in the library and then lunch at the student cafeteria.  Following lunch, we boarded a bus to the
Herentals Kraft Foods Chocolate Production Facility.  Before we embarked on the tour of the
production facility, Philippe Housemand, the Associate Director of Research and
Development for chocolate, spoke to us about their production facility and what
they do.  The Herentals facility produces
mainly chocolate Leo bars, which we quickly compared to Kit-Kat bars in the
US.  Next, our tour allowed us to view
the production lines for the different chocolate bars and wafers.  For sanitation reasons we had to wear a full
lab coat and hair net, quite the attractive outfit!  After viewing the production process, it was
exciting that they let us try one of the candy bars straight off of the
assembly line. The group was very gracious to leave with a briefcase full of
Kraft Foods chocolates.

Finally, we returned to Leuven and were met by graduate
university students and professors at a reception.  Here we were able to try some of the
traditional Belgian cheeses.  We enjoyed
learning about the similarities and differences between the education system
and overall culture in the U.S. and European Union.  The students and our hosts were very
welcoming and eager to speak with us! 
They also gave us a lot of great hints for our stay in Leuven and our
upcoming visit to Brussels.

The night concluded with a group outing where we relaxed on
the patio and then later met up again with the (KU) Leuven students and enjoyed
the Belgian nightlife. 

 

By: Michael Biegel, Joe Franzwa, Angela Grossi, and Soo Kim

Posted by Meredith Blumthal