07.10.2024
Plenty of Fun and a Great Atmosphere: The NETZSCH Apprentice Excursion 2024
The NETZSCH Pumps & Systems apprentices meet with their trainers for the yearly apprentice excursion. This year, the future specialists travelled by bus to Austria, where, in addition to a plant tour, they also went hiking on the treetop walk and bouldering, which was great fun for everyone.
Our commercial apprentices, Anna Maria Tratzl, Julia Holzner and Leni Hargasser, take you on an exciting journey and report on the two-day apprentice excursion. Their diary entry tells us where the trip took them this year and what exciting things they experienced there.
Departure by bus to Vorchdorf in Austria
Although it was already the second trainee excursion for us, we were still very excited the day before. What would the next two days be like? Would the new trainees be friendly? Had we packed everything? And what could we expect? There were so many questions, and we could hardly fall asleep on Wednesday evening, even though the alarm clock was set to go off at 6 o'clock on Thursday. It was time to brush our teeth, comb our hair, and have a quick breakfast and off we went to Waldkraiburg because at 7:30 a.m. was the meeting point for the annual apprentice excursion – hopefully, we hadn't forgotten anything. At 8 o'clock, we left the NETZSCH Campus in Waldkraiburg by bus toward Austria. The excitement subsided, and anticipation rose. After a trip of two hours, including a small snack, we reached our first destination: Weingärtner Maschinenbau GmbH, based in Kirchham near Vorchdorf.
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Factory tour at Weingärtner in Kirchham
We were given a friendly welcome with cool drinks. Divided into three groups, we were shown various short videos that gave us an insight into the history of the Weingärtner. The company was founded in 1966 by Friedrich Weingärtner and his two brothers, Franz and Herbert. Since then, it has been manufacturing special machine tools for the energy, plastics, aerospace and heavy machining industries. We also use some Weingärtner machines in our production. Did you know that access to the company is difficult because the streets were built very narrow and produced machines can only be transported up the hill with the help of a truck because of this problem? We certainly couldn't and were, therefore, quite impressed. After introducing the company's history, we were given a tour of the factory. You can't even imagine how big the machines we saw there – one milling machine that can process 25-metre-long parts in one go was impressive. We learned a lot of exciting things about special-purpose machine construction. But after the tour, we were starving.
Cable car ride up to Grünberg & breathtaking view
That's why we quickly returned to the bus after the factory tour and ate lunch. When we arrived at the restaurant, a vast buffet was laid out for us: Schnitzel was on the menu. It was really crispy and delicious. After we had filled our tummies, we took the gondola up the Grünberg at around 3 p.m. We set off for a lookout point. There, we enjoyed the beautiful view of the mountains and Lake Traunsee. After that, we split up into different groups and depending on our mood, we could spend the afternoon in the mountain hut or take a tour of the treetop walk. Did you know this path leads over a length of more than a kilometre at lofty heights and offers unique insights into the cultural landscape of the Bavarian Forest? It was a great adventure with exciting impressions, breathtaking views and excellent activities. After spending a lovely day on the mountain, we took the gondola back down to the valley, where a long bus ride awaited us, which took us to the youth hostel. Once we arrived at our accommodation, having had an exhausting day, it was time for some refreshments, after which we were allowed to explore the area on our own and end the evening in a cosy round material.
Bouldering in Salzburg & travel back to Waldkraiburg
We were still tired when the alarm went off at 7 o'clock the following day. But since we were bouldering in Salzburg at 9 o'clock, we had to fortify ourselves properly with breakfast – even though we weren't too hungry after the short night. When we arrived at the bouldering hall, we were briefly introduced and warmed up together. Afterwards, we were allowed to climb the climbing walls and test our skills on different routes. Let us tell you one thing: Bouldering really exhausting. But we had a lot of fun together, and it was a great experience. Completely exhausted, we went to lunch. Each desk got its own buffet with various delicious dishes. Having a full stomach and being completely exhausted, we started the journey home by bus. It took only a few minutes till somebody's eyes closed. Unfortunately, the trainee excursion was coming to an end. We have many great memories of an unforgettable trip that we look back on with pleasure. We want to thank the entire company, the youth and trainee representatives, and our trainers, who made the whole thing possible and gave us two beautiful days.
P.S. The new apprentices are really friendly too. We had a lot of fun together!
Best regards
Anna Maria, Julia & Leni
