Today we had our first Enterprise Visit at Ocean Technologies CO. LTD (here’s a link to their website http://www.octece.com). This company manufactures Electro-Discharge Machines (EDM). The EDMs have the capability to drill tiny holes into metal with extreme precision and accuracy. These machines are used by a variety of different companies which include Swarovski, Nissan, and BMW. This visit gave me insight into a part of Supply Chain Management (management, production, and sales). It was really interesting to see the different departments within the company and the processes that occur on a factory floor.
The woman pictured with our group, wearing the red polo, is one of the company’s shareholders. She was very knowledgeable and was able to answer all the questions we had about Ocean.
This picture was taken on the production floor where EDMs were being put together.
On the way back to campus we stopped at The Wufeng Lin Family Mansion and Gardens. This historic residence is the most complete traditional home in Taiwan and has an area of 11,000 sq. meters. It is located just south of Taichung City and is about 30 minutes away from campus. The home originally belonged to General Lin Wencha, a Fujian army commander, before it was passed down to his descendants. Unfortunately, in September of 1999 an earthquake badly damaged this historic home. It took the Taiwanese government approximately 20 million USD to restore this piece of history.
The wives and daughters of this wealthy family were not permitted to leave the house. This courtyard portion of the house is where the women and girls would spend most of their time.
During the tour we were given a sample of traditional Taiwanese tea in a small room in the house. While we were there Greta bought us all a passion fruit popsicle. Thank you, Greta!!
Before we went back to campus we ate dinner at Pomodoro Italian Restaurant. The meals were very large so I split one with Laura. Together we shared tomato vegetable soup, salad, french fries, spaghetti basil chicken, creme brulee, and cheesecake. Yes, that is a lot of food and yes we were both very full at the end! While we were there I also got to try some pigs foot and red wine. Greta insisted I try her pigs foot, so I did. It wasn’t bad but I think I preferred the duck that I had before. The wine, on the other hand, was not as enjoyable. I only had a sip and that was all I needed to find out I didn’t like it (the restaurant gave us all a free wine tasting). I’m just glad I had coffee to wash that taste away.
Ok, now let’s talk about the typhoon coming our way. Apparently, it’s a pretty big one and it is going to be here tomorrow night and last all through Friday. To prepare, we were told to buy bottled water and food to last us until Saturday. I’ve never been in a huge natural disaster before so I guess Taiwan is giving me another first. Thanks, Taiwan. On a positive note, the AC is back on and is working well 🙂 Woohoo!! I will try to give another update on the typhoon on tomorrow’s blog but for now, goodnight from Grace in Taiwan.
Grace in Taiwan 