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On 30th June, long before the start of the semester, all of the new MIB students received an offer to join senior MIB-lers in October for the first ever MIB-only company visit. The company in question was CLAAS, a family-owned manufacturer of agricultural machinery. In the spirit of new beginnings and despite the reminder from our program director that we would have our accounting final that same week, I signed up. And I don’t regret it.
Early that October morning, 13 MIB’lers from each year together with our program director, study advisor and even the President of FS, Prof. Steffens himself, got on the bus for a 4-hour drive, which was spent studying together for our accounting final, getting to know our seniors, and enjoying the sight of one of the first snowfalls of the year, and for one of us, the first snowfall in their life!
Upon arrival at the campus of CLAAS headquarters, we were immediately impressed. We were warmly received in a lobby displaying an array of gigantic agricultural machines in the company’s appropriately named brand color “seed-green,” which sported ominous, spikey blades reminiscent of those in a Transformers movie, and tires taller than a full-grown man! After a short introduction of the company and family history since its beginning in 1913 as well as a generous lunch, we started our tour of the factory.
In class, we had learned a lot about the various processes and procedures that need to be reflected in a financial statement. But it is one thing to crunch the numbers for Accounts Payable, Wages, and Cash Flow from Investing Activities, and a completely different –and exciting– thing to watch materials float by on hooks while the employees and laser machines weld and cut raw slabs of metal into the parts for an enormous vehicle that will plow a field in India or Kazakhstan. If the income statement is a film of a company’s financial activities, then we were behind the scenes on the movie set.
The visit ended in a presentation on the company’s global strategy for the future as well as an overview of the international and domestic internship and job opportunities CLAAS has for Bachelors, Masters, and even people in their gap-year between the two. To the pleasant surprise of many of us, a lot of the positions don’t even have the deterring requirement for near native fluency in German! After an exchange of gifts, we boarded the bus home.
Being students of the Frankfurt School
of Finance and Management, many of us look to the financial sector for prospective job opportunities. Up until the day of the trip, agricultural machinery probably wasn’t even on the radar for most of us. But we MIB’lers, especially those whose German skills are still limited, are always reminded to keep an eye out for the so-called “hidden champions.” These are companies whose names may not be well known outside their own industry, but who nevertheless offer exciting, international career opportunities. CLAAS is one such champion, and with a growing world population, higher demands in fuel and energy sources, and new technological innovations in the so-called Industry 4.0, CLAAS could be a great entry point to an exciting and fulfilling international career that contributes to the betterment of the global society.
In the end, even though I was initially worried about having enough time to study for my accounting final, I am very thankful I had the opportunity to participate in this eye-opening visit and hope there will be more such opportunities.
Frankfurt School gGmbH
Adickesallee 32-34
60322 Frankfurt am Main
