Key data
Job description: Intern in the Production and Engineering & Maintenance departments
Company: AGRANA Fruit GmbH Gleisdorf
Place: Gleisdorf, Austria
I did my internship from April 2015 and the beginning of February until the end of March 2016.
My contact
What I did
- Learning about all of the company’s repair and maintenance processes
- Repair and maintenance activities relating to pasteurisation units
- Container cleaning and planning the expansion of the new container cleaning department
- Process optimisation
- Production: fruit preparation, storage of binding agents and flavourings
- Delivery; production planning; administrative duties and order processing in SAP
My superiors considered it important for me to gain an overall view of production at the Gleisdorf site. I was therefore able to support different departments during my two internships.
Why I enjoyed my internship
In April 2015, I completed an internship in the Production department. That’s why this time, I was able to really understand all of the processes and how they are interlinked across departments. My colleagues are very open and entrusted me with a great deal from the outset so that I could work independently. The production of fruit preparations may appear easy at first glance but is actually highly complex. Everything has to be planned from A to Z, from plant engineering to ingredients and control of microbiological hazards.
Most colleagues were very friendly and accepted and integrated me. They answered all my many questions as best they could. And there was no shortage of fun at work. Who would have thought that after transferring tonnes of mango purée onto the preparation trolleys you turn into a mango yourself! Or that it takes a lot of self-discipline to weigh out 700kg of chocolate chips and not constantly munch on them or throw yourself into the trolley!
What I learned
- Project management (new container cleaning project)
- Process optimisation
- Interdisciplinary understanding of technological processes
- Hygiene and quality management guidelines
- Technological activities, pump maintenance, filter, valve and plant engineering
- Maintenance activities on pasteurisation units
My biggest success / My greatest experience
During my first internship at Agrana Fruit GmbH, I was able to make suggestions for the redesign of a warehouse and warehouse organisation. My suggestions were taken seriously and some of them were even implemented. The company always gave me the feeling that my external opinion was very important so as to prevent them becoming blind to their own shortcomings. The fact that I am now completing a second internship here shows me that the company was very satisfied with my performance last year.
How I secured the internship
Via a friend who was working in IT at Agrana Fruit GmbH.
What I want to do in the future
After my studies, I will certainly apply to Agrana Fruit GmbH in Gleisdorf. The company is successful at an international level and produces fruit preparations which are then sold on to dairies, for example. They produce the strawberry preparation which transforms yoghurt into strawberry yoghurt.
Good quality is the top priority and the company is constantly seeking to further develop and optimise its processes. It has also become clear to me that it is important to understand all of the processes in a company and to have a rough idea of what the other departments do in order to organise the entire supply chain more efficiently. Management positions can only be occupied by people who know what the actual production activities involve.
In terms of my future, I haven’t yet decided – (almost) anything is possible from quality management and supply chain management to the technical departments. However it is important to me that I can identify with the products made by the company and fully get behind the company. I have to like the products myself in order to be fully motivated and committed in my work.
