We met with one of the sponsors of our trip today, Deutsche Bank. We were given an overview of the history and global operations of DB, which is one of the largest banking firms in the world. It was interesting to hear about how the German government destroyed their business two times, the Communists once, and they have faithfully rebuilt the foundations of their business each time. Apparently, one of their astute analysts advised them to sell off their high risk assets before the big financial meltdown, so they have been left in better shape than their competitors. They are one of the few big banks that decided to forgo governmental aid. The presentation continued with a look at what DB calls corporate social responsibility. The philosophy is based on a level of self-interest and the need to build peoples' ability to care & supply for themselves. The thinking is that if you improve the environment (social, economic, etc.) where you do business, then you will be more successful. Genius!
We set off on the autobahn in the afternoon to visit a brewery that has converted from brewing beer to brewing a healthy, low-sugar flavored lemonade called Bionade. The two hour ride turned into a four hour ride because someone needed to pee. An hour into the trip, we had to get off the autobahn for a restroom and then couldn't get back on the autobahn. Instead of racing
down the autobahn, we rolled through country roads, which were pretty, but doubled our drive time. When we get to the Bionade plant, the presentation was captivating in that the brewer has been working to create a successful soft drink since the mid-1980's. He's now selling 2 million bottles a year, has out-stripped his capacity to produce the drink and gets $5 a bottle. They gave us a four-pack as a parting gift and it was tasty. I am happy to report that the trip back only took two hours!
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