My stay abroad in New Zealand
Julian Kleinwort is a JIG in After Sales. Before completing the trainee programme, he had the opportunity to gain experiences in the sales unit New Zealand. Learn more about his exciting experiences.
“Saving the best for last“- It doesn't always apply, but definitely to my trainee programme.
After already gaining experience in Germany in the areas of after sales, sales, project management and IT, I had the opportunity to travel to the other side of the world, to Auckland. The flight was an adventure itself, with a journey time of just about 36 hours from door to door. I was happy to be accommodated in the center of the city and to be provided with a car. This made it easy to visit events in the city and to see the beautiful nature of the island.
My time in the sales unit
The Kiwis, as the New Zealanders like to call themselves, welcomed me with open arms on my very first day and I was offered help and tips from all sides. My task was to support the sales unit on integrating into the Jungheinrich world. As we only took over the unit 2.5 months before my arrival, there was still a lot to do before the integration could be completed successfully.
My main task was the project coordination to enable a successful integration into the Jungheinrich Group. I also recorded the current after-sales processes and derived measures to further increase the efficiency of the sales unit. This gave me the opportunity to look over the shoulders of many employees and to understand how our core business works at the Sales Unit. I also took on the coordination of IT integration on site. This is a key topic, as only after successful IT integration it is possible to ensure smooth communication between our new colleagues from New Zealand and the global Jungheinrich network.
Travelling
A stay abroad is only special if you can get to know the country and the culture in addition to your work. I therefore took full advantage of every weekend to discover as much of New Zealand as possible.
A good place to go for tips from locals was, of course, work. I got great travel recommendations from some of the colleagues. I also had a special experience together with a member of our sales team. One Sunday, he invited me to use his second mountain bike to explore the trails in Totara Park. This was a very challenging, but at the same time an exciting experience.
Another weekend I visited Taupo (3 hours south of Auckland) with a colleague from Hamburg. Here we had the opportunity to relax in naturally heated hot tubs and, in contrast, get an adrenaline rush from white water rafting in Tongariro National Park. I was also able to do some surfing. New Zealand offers great opportunities for this and after just a 40-minute drive from Auckland, you can be at the surf school in Muriwai. The lessons tempted me to get into surfing a little more intensively and, apart from the fitness aspect, I was also able to admire an incredibly beautiful landscape. Muriwai not only offers a beautiful beach for surfing, but also a unique natural spectacle with the "Gannet Colony" (gannet = bird species). Here you can observe large gannets up close, which is definitely worth a trip!
Conclusion
The stay abroad in New Zealand was absolutely the highlight of my trainee career at Jungheinrich. I am very grateful that I was given this opportunity to experience life and work at Jungheinrich outside of Germany.
