Adventure Down Under: apprentices in Australia
Escape the cold winter in Germany and spend some time working in Australia instead? 15 apprentices of all German HORSCH sites were offered this opportunity. They did not only get to know what working is like at the HORSCH sales partner Muddy River, but also the life and the mentality of the Australians.
At the beginning of this year, 15 apprentices travelled to the other side of the earth to work at Muddy River, HORSCH’s Australian sales partner. Divided into two groups, at first eight apprentices set out for Australia. After around six weeks, their stay was over and the second group replaced their colleagues.
The first group consisting of two teams of four apprentices started on the 1st of January. “We started in Munich and flew just under six hours to Doha, from where we travelled on to Perth on the west coast of Australia on a really gigantic plane”, Justin Hänse who was responsible for one of the two teams explains. Fabian Horsch who was in charge of the other team added: “We also started in Munich. After a stopover in Singapore, we flew another ten hours to Brisbane on the east coast.” They spent one night in Brisbane and then travelled on to Toowoomba where Muddy River is located. In total, the two teams were separated by around 4,000 km and two times zones.
In the first week, the apprentices all had a relatively relaxed start. They had to get rid of the jetlag and to get accustomed to the climate on site. The trip started in Germany with temperatures around the freezing point, but in Australia, the temperatures did not drop below 30° - even at night. So the teams used the first days to acclimatise and to settle down in the houses where the teams were accommodated. As the team was a mix of apprentices from different sites, they were happy to meet again as some only knew each other from the check-in days. Joint activities quickly made the sense of community grow again.
Responsibility and German know-how
In the second week, work started at both sites of Muddy River. “In Perth, we mainly built Cultro 12 and 18 TC, Joker 6 and 12 RT, Sprinter 18 NT and Tiger 6 as well as 8 MT”, Justin explains. “In Toowoomba, we mainly built Sprinter 12 und 18 NT” Fabian states. The people from Muddy River completely relied on the support from Germany. “Right at the beginning, they told us: you are the specialists, and you work according to your system. They left it up to us how to build the machines and how to develop a structure for us in the assembly hall,” Justin remembers. The objective was to support Muddy River and their employees on site, to exchange knowledge and experiences and to convey know-how with regard to the assembly of the machines. Although it was the first time for most of them to build these machines completely on their own, it worked very well. “With the technology we had with us, e.g. SAP, we were very well equipped on site.” And, of course, they were not left to their own devices. The Australian colleagues always provided support and the colleagues in Schwandorf and Ronneburg, too, were only a phone call away and always available for tips and advice.
However, the high temperatures proved to be a real challenge in the daily work.
“The highest temperature that once was reached was 58°. Most of the time, the temperature was over 50° indoors and outdoors the temperatures also ranged between 40 and 45°. When you have been working in the sun all day, you feel it in the evening”, Justin points out. “In Toowoomba it was a little bit cooler with 38° on average. Moreover, there always was a good draught in the hall. Thus, it was quite comfortable”, Fabian states. But it was not just the heat that was completely new. Everyone was impressed by the weather events, especially the thunderstorms that were much more powerful than in Germany.
Insight into agriculture
One possibility of getting to know Australian agriculture better was directly on the fields of the customers. What they noticed immediately: the dimensions of the farms differ fundamentally from the ones they are used to. Not only the fields, but also the farms are much larger. Family farms that cultivate 4,000 to 5,000 ha and large farms that work with up to 15 seed drills are not uncommon at all.
When talking to the farmers, their enthusiasm for HORSCH machines became obvious. “One farmer had a Sprinter that was already 10 years old, and he was still thrilled. Now he invested in spare and wear parts to make sure that he can work another 10 years with this machine.” Long service life and stability were the main arguments the farmers mentioned in favour of the machines. And Muddy River‘s sales figures for HORSCH machines are growing, too.
On site, the teams also acted as a direct contact between the service centre in Schwandorf and the Australian farmers. During their stay, several meetings took place to assess the situation on site and to optimise it further. “If farmers had questions with regard to machines, we were, of course, able to directly contact the right colleagues in Germany. Thus, we could provide the answers already the very next day.” Feedback and experiences regarding the machines were also gathered and passed on.
Getting to know the country and its people
Even though the focus was on work, there still was time to get to know the country and its people. The teams noticed again and again how wide Australia really is. What looked rather close by on the map, actually could be up to 1,000 km away. In addition to sightseeing tours to the cities and trips to the beach, the teams also travelled to the outback every now and then. “The nature really is indescribably beautiful. I have never seen anything like this before“, Fabian remembers. Quad tours also were part of their spare time event program. And they were always impressed by the hospitality and the helpfulness of the locals.
After a very intensive time and a lot of experiences, the summary of the whole event is throughout positive: “Respect to our apprentices. They did a really good job. And if some little things did not work as planned, they were able to fix them very quickly.” Muddy River, too, was very satisfied with the support from Germany.
Due the work in Australia and the fact that they had to manage and organise a lot of things on their own, the apprentices learned a lot and took a lot of experiences home for their work in Germany. Of course, they were also able to improve their English skills. They particularly appreciated the exchange with people with a different mentality. All in all, it was an experience all of them will remember for a long time.