VISITS TO THE COMPANIES IN PORTO
Hello! In this short article I will talk about the companies that we visited during our stay in Porto and about what we learned there.
When we were in Porto, we visited many companies. I find these visits very interesting and useful because we learnt and saw many things which we hadn’t known or hadn’t heard of before. We visited three companies: Sandeman (wine production company), Unicer (beer and non-alcoholic drinks production) and CEiiA (Center for Excellence and Innovation in the Automotive Industry). First we visited Sandeman wine cellar. It was very interesting because we learnt a lot aboutthe special Portuguese wine called Porto and about the tradition and history of wine production in the river Douro region. We learnt how wine is transported, where, when and how it is processed and stored, and a lot of other things. We also learnt that they keep wine older than 500 years in their cellar. It is very good but also very expensive.
The next day we visited Unicer factory, where they produce Super Bock beer and non-alcoholic drinks. We were taken on a tour of the factory by a guide, who showed us different stages of beer production and told us everything about beer, about the history of the company, their marketing strategies, how they keep the production costs down and many other things. The whole production is extremely modernized and high-tech, we saw machines – computers, which do work instead of workers. Most of the things are run by computers. In the end, we were offered their non-alcohol beverages and some biscuits.
The last company we visited was CEiiA. It is a Centre of Engineering and Innovation that develops and deploys innovative products and systems for the aeronautic, mobility and offshore industries. Their engineering activities cover both automotive (specially electric mobility) and aeronautical engineering with integrated product and process development for the mobility industries, with full capabilities for product development including styling, design and engineering, prototyping and test. We saw how designers work on a prototype of a new electric bicycle, which will be a multi-function vehicle and not just a bicycle. They also showed us how they control the network of electric cars and other services connected to them. We were very impressed by their knowledge and visions, everything looked very complicated and futuristic, but we could understand that this is the future for all of us.
I think all of the visits and all the companies were very interesting. It was an educational experience and it will help me understand the business world. I am grateful to the Portuguese hosts who made the whole experience possible.
Tal Omčikus, Slovenia