Maymester 2017

Budapest, Hungary and Dublin, Ireland.

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Stayhold

Stayhold is a company that produces plastic molds with velcro on the bottom that help secure items in the trunk of your car. They can be used with straps to add an extra level of security to your items. The company’s inception came from when the CEO was delivering items for his job. A sharp turn and a emergency brake later, bottles in the back of the truck fell and broke. The CEO went home and created a wooden mold to use so bottles wouldn't break in the future. This wooden abstract design became the starting point for his extremely successful company. They began a campaign on Kickstarter, and within an hour, the product was completely sold out.

The product had been produced in China because of cheap labor costs, but it was just recently announced that the item will began production in Ireland. This will bring a sense of nationalism to the company. They currently are sold at Home Depot in America, but Stayhold would like to expand that to include other segments of the market. They are also sold locally in Ireland and throughout various parts of Europe. 

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FitBit

Pictured above are unique things that you don't see in many companies. The first picture is a yoga studio/work-out room that offers classes taught by instructors during lunch. All employees have access to the classes and are able to partake in the activities free-of-charge. The women pictured works in HR and was responsible for giving us our tour. Note her outfit; the culture of the company is extremely relaxed. This may be attributable to the fact that they are a fitness brand.

In the second picture, notice the yellow signs hanging from the ceiling. The sign tells you how many steps you will have when walking to that sign. These yellow step signs are posted around the perimeter of the office, and employees are encouraged to walk around the office every hour to not be sedentary. 

The last picture was extremely cool to see. The company has treadmills set up with table tops, so if you feel like getting work done and walking at the same time it is possible. Our guide said the rooms also are used for meetings because they can hold up to six people. This is something extremely unique and different from what we see in a usual company tour. Not only does FitBit sell wearable fitness gear, they also promote a healthy and fit lifestyle to their employees. 

While exploring the two small floors FitBit has, we also noticed that in their kitchen they have a “Beer Refrigerator”. In this, large cases of beer were being cooled in preparation for their weekly happy hour in the office! When we asked our guide about if any rules needed to be laid down for employees to stop them from drinking one on lunch or whenever, she explained that they trust their employees so that they don't feel obligated to outline basic rules and common sense to their employees. 

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A corporate rate of 12.5% and R&D Credits of 25% mean Dublin is one of the best cities in the world to do business in.

Dublin.ie

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FitBit

FitBit was a really interesting company to tour. The office itself is brand new, and is relatively small for the size of the company. The tour began with an extensive powerpoint detailing the company history and financial figures. We learned that they started with one single product which has now grown into more than five. Customization of the wearable fitness technology has been introduced in the last two years, allowing the customer to customize their accessory. In addition, we learned that FitBits earning had significantly dropped last year. Also, the company does not have an office in every location that they say they are located in; they have brand representatives. The brand representatives meet monthly via a video conference with the staff in Dublin. 

Dublin is a great place for corporations to set up shop in. The corporate tax rate is among the least and it is centrally located to the United States and Europe. The location is unique because it gives an opportunity for the company to have easy access to both critical areas for sales and development. 

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A popular advertisement for Guiness in Dublin, Ireland.

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Guiness

While in Dublin, we visited the Guiness factory. We learned how to pour the perfect pour and history behind the company. 

I think it is important to note the differences between the drinking culture of the United States and not only Dublin, but a lot of Europe in general. The drinking culture is much more relaxed than in America. Most places the legal drinking age is 18, and with parental consent, those that are younger than the legal age are allowed to drink. This is much different that what we all are used to seeing and abiding by in America. The thinking behind having an alcoholic beverage is seen as an accompanying factor to a meal, rather than a means of getting intoxicated. The ethics behind having the beverage is much different when viewing alcohol besides as a mean to get intoxicated. 

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Vienna, Austria

Prostests in Vienna, Austria prompted police to take the streets in case something violent was to happen. We randomly came across the group as we were finding lunch in a popular area of Vienna; we followed along for about a mile to understand why they were protesting. The protesters were lobbying for the acceptance of refugees into Austria. As it stands, Austria and Hungary do not allow refugees into their countries. Both men and women are pictured above with weapons and materials needed as an authoritarian figure to keep the safety in the community. 

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While traveling to Vienna, Austria by train from Budapest, immigration officers entered our trains to check our passports. Both men and women held authoritarian positions.

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Tasting the original Unicum at the Zwack Unicum Plc. factory. From left to right; Jacob Katz, Mitchell MacZura, Madison Stewart, Courtney Cummins. 

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Zwank Unicum Plc.

Another company we visited while in Hungary was Zwank Unicum Plc., the number one spirit brand in Hungary. Unicum is an extremely popular alcohol that was once looked at as a medicine. It was created by Joseph Zwack who was the physician of Joesph II of the Austrian Empire. The ingredients, pictured above, include a plethora of many herbs and spices, giving it a very earthy and bitter flavor. The best American comparison to Unicum is Jagermeister. 

The bitter market is the second largest market segment in the industry, and the largest within the premium segment. Although Unicum is extremely popular among Hungarians, outside markets look at it as very strong and unpleasant. This caused the company to create other products such as Unicum Next and Unicum Plum to satisfy the palates of other markets.

During the WWII, the factory was nearly completed destroyed. The factory became nationalized by the communist regime in 1948. The Zwack family gave a false recipe to the government, making the “Unicum” that they produced a fraud. Just before the end of the regime, relatives of Joseph Zwack returned back into Hungary, bought back the company, and began producing the original form of the bitter spirit. 

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Audi Hungaria 

Another company we visited during our stay in Hungary was Audi Hungaria. This plant had many different facilities, including paint, tools, engine, and production. Audi was very strict about pictures being taken of their production lines; therefore, the only pictures that were allowed to be taken were of the outside of the facility and the model car they had posed by the security gate for pictures. 

While touring the company, both men and women were seen on the production line. There was no specific job that seemed like it was run by either gender. In addition, Audi Hungaria employed many citizens of the local community. Many bikes were parked outside of the facility, because many of the workers were from very close by. Audi Hungaria undoubtedly was the main source of work for the community.

At this facility they only produced four of the models that Audi produces. Both European and American models were made, and steering wheels could be seen on both the left and right side of the vehicle. Construction was also underway to produce a new facility that would house the production capabilities needed to produce a newer model that Audi had just announced. 

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Herend Porcelain Compay Tour

While in Budapest, one of our company visits was Herend Porcelain. Herend Porcelain has been in business since 1826, even lasting the tale of time during the communist regime in Hungary. After the fall of communism, the company took an interesting approach to ownership and now has employees and management own 75% of the company.

During the company tour, we were guided through various work stations that showed the progression of different Porcelain plates and figures being molded and hand-painted. In the first picture, the molds can be seen in the background that are used to form the world famous plates and intricate designs. In the second and third pictures, workers are sculpting and adding critical details to the Herend products. 

Although two women are shown working on the products, men also were seen in the factory. As mentioned before, all employees have ownership in the company, which is a different approach to company ownership than what we usually see; this came from the switch from communism to democracy.