Today we started out at 08:00 for a lecture presentation at UDCI. Coming in, we were handed agendas and signed a batch of thank you cards to be given to the various tour guides and corporate executives we would be meeting today and tomorrow. The presentations were led by a short lecture from Dr. Terence Lao, the professor for the three business classes who went to Delphi Electronics. Then, groups of students from those classes came up one at a time to give a series of short presentations, one on each of the companies we were to visit. Unfortunately, neither of the companies we all visited was willing to allow us to take many pictures, for trade secret reasons.
Our first stop today was Higer Bus Corporation, a manufacturer of a wide range of buses. They are one of the biggest and most popular bus manufacturers in China, and export to all parts of the globe as well. Their product range extends from small 20-seat short distance buses (including an all-electric model which the company is donating one of to UDCI for use as the shuttle), up to long-distance luxury touring coaches (one of which we got to examine; it was amazing). They also produce everything in between, including long- and short-distance tour buses, commuter buses, and school buses. Higer also produces a line of pickup trucks. We walked through a welcome center, where we got a history of Higer Bus, and learned the basics of their safety and environmental innovations. They also showed us their tracking system, by which the company can keep tabs on all of the tracking-equipped buses and then send the data to the operating companies. This data includes GPS tracking and various speed, safety, and operational data gathered by what is essentially an on-board black box. Then they took us into a large conference room, where they provided us with catalogues, brochures, water, and tea. They gave a presentation before opening the floor to questions. The tea was good, and I appreciated the water. I did not take any of the brochures with me, as I will never have any use for them. Afterward we examined some of the finished products and walked through the final assembly floor. We were accompanied the entire time by a corporate executive, who I believe was the owner or perhaps the CEO. He was very nice and willing to answer our questions during the presentation.
After Higer, we went to lunch at a nearby plaza. Most of us ended up going to Papa John’s. It’s more of a thing in China because their only Western competition is Pizza Hut.
After lunch we went and toured one of the three local Stanley, Black and Decker plants, where they make DeWalt tools. We were ushered upstairs to the cubicles and shown into the conference room. After a presentation and Q & A session by the Plant Manager, we were handed over to the Operations Manager for a quick stroll around the assembly floor (literally, as we never actually entered the main floor), who pointed out various parts of the assembly process and some of the finished, packaged products. Apparently, of the thousands of tools produced by this factory, 70% are shipped to America, 20% to Europe, and the other 10% goes to domestic (Chinese) markets.
After Stanley, Black & Decker, we dropped of the DSC 211, MGT 494, and OPS 301 students, and all the faculty except Professor Washington, at Delphi Electronics (who we were told makes electronic components for automobile manufacturers), before the bus (the same as our shuttle, and also an older Higer product) took us home. Afterward we hung out or slept until dinner, which you arranged on your own, and the business kids returned around 17:15. My dinner consisted of spicy ramen noodles and beef bits, which was quite tasty. We stayed up late afterwards watching TV and talking (which was a bad decision, given the need to wake up at 05:30). It started to rain around 17:00, and by 19:00 when I went to dinner, it was a rain-snow mix. It was snowing by 21:00. It will be interesting to see how well the local road maintenance department handles this, and the effect it has on our 07:00 journey to Shanghai.
Our first stop today was Higer Bus Corporation, a manufacturer of a wide range of buses. They are one of the biggest and most popular bus manufacturers in China, and export to all parts of the globe as well. Their product range extends from small 20-seat short distance buses (including an all-electric model which the company is donating one of to UDCI for use as the shuttle), up to long-distance luxury touring coaches (one of which we got to examine; it was amazing). They also produce everything in between, including long- and short-distance tour buses, commuter buses, and school buses. Higer also produces a line of pickup trucks. We walked through a welcome center, where we got a history of Higer Bus, and learned the basics of their safety and environmental innovations. They also showed us their tracking system, by which the company can keep tabs on all of the tracking-equipped buses and then send the data to the operating companies. This data includes GPS tracking and various speed, safety, and operational data gathered by what is essentially an on-board black box. Then they took us into a large conference room, where they provided us with catalogues, brochures, water, and tea. They gave a presentation before opening the floor to questions. The tea was good, and I appreciated the water. I did not take any of the brochures with me, as I will never have any use for them. Afterward we examined some of the finished products and walked through the final assembly floor. We were accompanied the entire time by a corporate executive, who I believe was the owner or perhaps the CEO. He was very nice and willing to answer our questions during the presentation.
After Higer, we went to lunch at a nearby plaza. Most of us ended up going to Papa John’s. It’s more of a thing in China because their only Western competition is Pizza Hut.
After lunch we went and toured one of the three local Stanley, Black and Decker plants, where they make DeWalt tools. We were ushered upstairs to the cubicles and shown into the conference room. After a presentation and Q & A session by the Plant Manager, we were handed over to the Operations Manager for a quick stroll around the assembly floor (literally, as we never actually entered the main floor), who pointed out various parts of the assembly process and some of the finished, packaged products. Apparently, of the thousands of tools produced by this factory, 70% are shipped to America, 20% to Europe, and the other 10% goes to domestic (Chinese) markets.
After Stanley, Black & Decker, we dropped of the DSC 211, MGT 494, and OPS 301 students, and all the faculty except Professor Washington, at Delphi Electronics (who we were told makes electronic components for automobile manufacturers), before the bus (the same as our shuttle, and also an older Higer product) took us home. Afterward we hung out or slept until dinner, which you arranged on your own, and the business kids returned around 17:15. My dinner consisted of spicy ramen noodles and beef bits, which was quite tasty. We stayed up late afterwards watching TV and talking (which was a bad decision, given the need to wake up at 05:30). It started to rain around 17:00, and by 19:00 when I went to dinner, it was a rain-snow mix. It was snowing by 21:00. It will be interesting to see how well the local road maintenance department handles this, and the effect it has on our 07:00 journey to Shanghai.