Thursday, August 11, 2011

What an amazing experience! I can barely begin to absorb all that we saw and learned. I want to thank Don, Rita and Shannon for creating such an inspirational and educational opportunity. I arrived home so inspired and motivated to move ahead personally and professionally. It’s difficult to decide which of the many events was the most fulfilling … the engineering precision of the BMW plant, the creativity and innovation of Nokia Siemens, or the insight and knowledge of so many of the speakers. I personally took so much from the vast experience these professionals so willingly shared with us.

All this was only further bolstered by the many cultural experiences. Munich was such a welcoming city. The visit to Dachau was so poignant; it’s difficult to put into words how deeply moving it was to be able to visit such a salient piece of history. It’s something I will never forget. By contrast the light hearted and quaint Salzburg - under the skilled guidance of Michael - provided such a wonderful insight into that city’s historic past.

Thanks again to Don, Rita, Uday and Shannon for creating such a wonderful event; to my team Tammy, John R. and Flaiyh for their input and support; and to my cohorts for making this an adventure of a life time … or to quote Michael - Goodie, Goodie, Goodie!

P.S. I found a job posting for Nokia Siemens in the HR department … think Don would let me telecommute?!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Volvo Trucks



The presentation at Volvo Trucks was quite interesting. They are the first to put methane/diesels (blue truck) on the market and are working with new technologies for cleaner air and emissions. Their market share in Germany was a great concern for them even though they were doing quite well with sales.


Their United States sales were over 10 thousand units for the past year and they have been able to penetrate the South American market as well with great success. Part of their global success is to build assembly plants for their vehicles in countries outside of Germany and Sweeden. Volvo seems to be committed to alternative fuels for trucking. Volvo recently delivered its first 10 natural gas-powered VNM daycabs (red truck) to Talon Logistics, Inc., the transportation division of Giant Eagle, Inc., a multi-format food and fuel retailer with stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland. Talon also received Volvo’s first delivery of EPA 2010-certified trucks in November 2009.