Today was our last day of company visits. We got up and left for BraunAbility (formerly AutoAdapt) at 8:45. Instead of taking public transit, we got on a bus as BraunAbility is a bit out of the city. It is about 36 km, or about 23 miles out and it appeared that it would take over an hour to get her by public transit or just 30 by bus or car so I was thankful to be in a bus.
Once we arrived, we walked into a conference room and were met by Rolf Ekblad, who is the VP of Operations for Europe. He layed out our agenda for the day and have us a brief history. AutoAdapt was founded in 1996 by Ralph Braun and was sold to BraunAbility and renamed so in 2019. Something interesting to note is that they run a “Dealer” out of the back of the facility that runs under the name “AutoAdapt” and is a full fledged BraunAbility dealer. Ralph, the founder, had muscular dystrophy and started this company after he created his own lift system and people began to ask for their own. He also talked about the company’s purpose. Their purpose is to “let as many people as possible live a more independent life by enabling them to drive or ride in a vehicle safely all around the world.” After this, we had a short production area tour.
There are a few things I took away from this. One was how clean the area was. The second is that they only run 1 shift day. The second is that all the employees seemed to know each other which is always nice to see.
They are also using a robotic welder from ABB, another company we visited this trip.
They are also the sister company of Bruno, the first company we visited all the way back in Wisconsin.
After this and a product development talk (more on this later) we saw some of their products in action. In the space where AutoAdapt fits cars with their products, we saw some in action. It was really interesting to see what they were capable of. These products really show their mission. They are truly trying to help people gain their independence.
The picture above shows my favorite thing that they showed me. This mercedes wagon is an employee’s car and he has a swiveling chair fitted (which BraunAbility makes) and this arm, which with the press of a button opens from the trunk to grab the wheelchair and place it in the trunk. I really liked this.
After this, we had lunch although I was a little distracted by this Ducati sitting in front of us. We ended sitting with the guy who gave us the product development talk and we chatted for a while. We were just talking about life in Sweden and cars when he asks if we had heard of the Swedish car company Koenigsegg. For those of you who do not know, Koenigsegg is the maker of probably the most insane cars on the planet earth. They have made a car with a 1:1 power to weight ratio so 1 horsepower per kilogram of weight. This is insane. They are multi-million dollar works of engineering art. They are preparing to release the Jesko, which some are saying could be the first 300 mph production car ever.
I said yes, and he causally mentioned that not only did he used to work there, but he is friends with the current chief engineer. So the guy who is responsible for making the Jesko make history from an engineering standpoint. I was kind of speechless. After this, we had another presentation from HR and then got on the bus to Remente.
We got to Remente and met David Brudö, the CEO and Co-Founder of Remente. He gave us a fantastic presentation on the company, the app itself, and had some really interesting thoughts on life. One of the things I immediately liked about David was his candor. We had known him for just a few minutes when he began to tell us about why he started the app in the first place. He began to tell us that he had bouts of depression when he was younger and when he finally went out and found counseling, he was told he was not a priority. He also mentioned that he had trained many high level athletes on their mental skills like concentration. One interesting note is that he had a hand in training Annika Sorenstam, a female golfer who is just a fantastic player (and is from Sweden). He jumped into some of the methods the app uses, and said that it is based on cognitive behavioral therapy. At his point, I found myself utterly engaged in everything he was saying. For some reason, I love listening to speakers who speak about how our brains are. He said that our brains are wired for survival, not happiness. Which evolutionarily speaking makes a ton of sense. We seek to protect ourselves. He also mentioned that the way we talk to ourselves makes a huge difference which I know from personal experience to be true. He also talked about goals. He likes the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely). He then hit on how small, attainable steps are really important. He gave us an example that went like this. He said that say he wanted to get in shape and saw someone on instagram with a 6 pack who works out ten times a day. He said that he should get there by working out ten times a day right away. This is not a realistic. It’s too much. A more realistic goal would be to work out 3 times a week. He emphasised small goals. Like drive to the gym and get a membership as a start to a work out goal. David wrapped up the visit with 2 things I really liked. He said “Don’t believe everything you think” and “If you fall down 7 times, get up 8.” With that we left, went back to the hostel and went out for dinner.
Daily Impressions
Candor when it comes to mental health stuff is so nice
It really stays dark for a long time here
I think I’m going to have to find an authentic Swedish Cinnamon Bun Recipe
Sam's Trip to Sweden 