Allianz Arena and Sorin

This morning I went for a morning run and happened to run into Dr. Feick in the park! I gave him a wave, and went on a run over the dam in the park and ran by a reservoir on a trail. I enjoy running over there if you couldn't tell, and one of the park's best qualities is that it is nearly completely flat. After a year of the Chevron steps, I will take some flat space!

Inside the arena (the grass is being
redone)

The arena from the outside. The
facade can be lit up with different
colors at night

Today we visited two sites in Munich. After arriving by train, hopping on the subway, and taking a bus, we first visited Allianz Arena. This 71,000-seat stadium houses FC Bayern München , the German national champion soccer team, as well as the Munich Lions, a second division soccer team. When we first entered the stadium, we sat on seats in one end. We were given the opportunity to shout out and experience the echo that is caused by the design of the stadium, and it was crazy to see how much noise just thirty people could make.

The tunnel that leads to the pitch

The lockers of the FC
Bayern München

Next, we visited the press room for the coaches, locker room of the players, and the tunnel that players would enter through. We also saw the hall where players do interviews after the game. The thing that surprised me most was how lackluster the locker rooms were. They were not very large or anything special compared to college athletics locker rooms I have seen on video or seen in person. However, the reason for this is that the team practices at a different facility, and are only at Allianz Arena once every couple weeks. Thus, a posh locker room is unnecessary.

After eating lunch at the arena, we walked through the hail to get on a subway and bus to Sorin. Sorin is a manufacturer of cardiopulmonary devices, and at this specific location they produce heart-lung machines, oxygenators, and auto transfusion machines. This was interesting to see, as nearly 70% of production is done in house. This means that they have raw materials, such as an aluminum rod, and cut and shape it into the various components they need, and then assemble these pieces. They also create the circuit boards in house. It was really surprising to see this level of vertical integration in a day and age where outsourcing seems to be key. They said they did this to reduce costs as well as ensure quality, which is extremely important especially considering the quality is so critical in medical devices.

After this tour, my group had to give the preview presentation of Fujitsu Technology Solutions, which is the firm we are visiting tomorrow. We then caught the train back to Augsburg.