Monday in Mannheim: BASF and John Deere

We kicked off the day with a grand breakfast of eggs, sausage, fruit, and rolls in the dining room at the Holiday Inn City Center in Mannheim, Germany. Once
everyone had finished, we packed up our luggage and embarked on the short drive
to BASF's agricultural campus at Limberghof, Germany around 8:30 am. The
beautifully kept lawns and blossoming flowers greeted us as we entered the
facility. Director Anne van Gastel gave us an introduction and synopsis of BASF's history, worldwide operations and path to becoming the leader in its industry. Following Mr. van Gastel's debriefing, Mr. Andy Beadle who is BASF's Project Manager presented a nice
overview of the company's operations in plant biotechnology. We were all surprised to learn about this department’s extensive commitment to cutting edge research in genetic
engineering and new plant variety development despite being the youngest sector
of the company. BASF then provided us with mid-morning snack of coffee, juice, sweet rolls, and fruit pizza. After the break, Mr. van Gastel and Mr. Beadle gave us a guided tour of the agricultural center. Their explanations allowed us to understand the activities in the buildings and fields that covered the company's campus. It was great to have the opportunity to witness firsthand the operations that develop ideas into actual products. We were able to observe scientists conducting experiments and carefully maintaining the plants in the seemingly endless greenhouses. There were vast fields that tested soil fertility, late blight resistance in potatoes and numerous other trial tests. After the tour the BASF staff provided us with a delicious three-course meal at Gasthaus Limburgerhof.

Around 1:30, we ventured back to Mannheim to visit John Deere Werke Mannheim. Though many of us were familiar with the looming green and yellow tractors found also in
US, we knew very little about what exactly goes into producing the machinery.Then came one of the highlights of the day: a guided tour through the extensive factories where the John Deere machines were produced. What we saw proved to be the epitome of the assembly line that put together tractors ranging from the 5000 series to 7000 series. We listened to explanations of transmission, chassis and suspension development for these tractors. John Deere employees worked with electronics to efficiently fit the various parts together. The sheer size of the rooms and the equipment were impressive.

After the tour, four representatives from John Deere met with us for an hour-long question and answer session. They were Mr. Michael Schleppi who is the company Controller, Mr. Horst Wiedehage who is the WW Product Line Manager, Dr. Peter Pickel who is the Manager of Technology and Innovation and Mr. Jonathan Henry who is the Manager of Factory Marketing. We all had a great time listening to them and their information proved very beneficial especially for the agricultural machinery team and the biodiesel team. Afterwards, part of our group climbed up the machines and the rest of us along with the John Deere management team stood together for several fun group photos. We left around 6 pm for Bonn, Germany where we are staying at Guennewig Hotel Residence for
tonight.

Posted by Christine Cheng, Janice Glavtcheff, Jamison Mosely, Jordan Tate