The Adventures of International Plant Trek South America

36 LGO students (first years and second year), 5 SO's and 2 faculty members just got back from International Plant Trek that took place in South America. We were in Sao Paulo for business and Rio De Janeiro and Buenos Aires for Pleasure.
I was the chair of the committee that organized this trip and although we had quite a few challenges along the way, it was a great experience to lead a group to somewhere I've never been before. I had wonderful help from the entire committee and this trip made me appreciate LGO even more. The opportunity to organize such a tour on behalf of a prestigious school to your classmate and friends and visit unique facilities is once in a lifetime. Everywhere we went, we were greeted warmly and I can say for myself that I have learned much about manufacturing that occur in other parts of the world.
Day 1: arrived in Rio De Janeiro 9:00 am, after a 1 hour wait for luggage realizing that time is a relative measure here. Headed straight to the beach where dozens of vendors "Attacked" us as they saw a group of 30 Americans. Later, the whole group went to a Brazilian BBQ where we had all you can eat meat.. Wow, I certainly caught up on my vitamin B consumption.

Day 2: Started a day with tour that was planned for 9am - 3 pm but ended up 4 hours later since we believed the queuing theory of our Brazilian guide. We did end up reaching the top of Sugarloaf but by the time we reached Corcovado (Christ the Redeemer ) it was very foggy. Sources told us that Obama didn't get to see the view as well.

Day 3: A day to relax in Rio de Janeiro before our flight to Sao Paulo. Arrived late to Sao Paulo and discovered the meaning of nothing is open Sunday evenings.

Day 4: Our first plant tour to Embraer - the third largest commercial aircraft company in the world that produces commercial, military, and executive aircraft and provides aeronautical services. Altough our bus was an hour late, we were hosted very kindly and apparently an MIT graduate helped build Embraer back in the 50's. Seeing another aircraft manufacturer build in a different process was fascinating and we could learn from the observed differences.
Once we got dinner in Sao Paulo, we realized that it is one fo the most expensive cities in the world..

Day 5 : The group split up between Flextronics and Dell. My group went to Dell where we saw a facility that manufactured Laptops, Desktops and Servers. That fast pace of the facility raised interesting questions about manufacturing in Brazil, benefits and constraints. That evening we all went to eat Brazlian Pizza where we met also an LGO Alum who has been living in Brazil for several years.

Day 6: Early in the morning we headed towards Caterpillar. It was hard core manufacturing! Metal sheets turning into a large man made machine. I was amazed to see how much manual labor went into the process, producing in a high pace and delivering across the globe. I walked around with a smile as I observed what mankind have accomplished. Later that evening we all went to a Brazilian soccer game. Even though it wasn't the most popular game, the fans were wild.
Day 7: Our last day in Sao Paulo started with a tour at GM. Although we have seen GM during domestic plant trek, this was completely different. We were lucky to see the entire process from stamping, welding, painting to assembly. The production rate of that facility is higher than I expected and I was surprised to discover that the plant exists for more than 80 years. The entire team were engaged to the tour and I felt like GM cares deeply about the relationship with LGO and MIT.
Straight after GM tour, we were on our way to the airport for our final destination: Buenos Aires! Arriving to Buenos Aires late at night, we got full exposure to the nightlife. I had the best steak I had in a while at midnight and then we went out to party.

Day 8: Another car manufacturer visit at VW. I never knew car manufacturers can be so different. This plant was heavily automated and each machine was more impressive than the other.
After the tour, we went to visit La Boca,. La Boca is the oldest, most colorful, and most authentic neighborhood in Buenos Aires. We sat there for lunch, listened to some good music when the news came.....
Our flight back home was canceled. From this moment, maybe my classmates can share more about Buenos Aires. The committee was trying to find everyone a different flight and luckily we all made it back to Boston.