The stay abroad is the centerpiece of the KION Management Trainee Program. For five months, our trainees travel to one of KION's international locations and support the local teams. Not only do they get to know different work processes, but they also gain valuable experience. Read about the experiences of Abinaya, Felix, Izuchi and Jacob.
2025-04-03
During her international rotation Abinaya was based in Kraków, Poland, working within the IT Service Hub. Her role has focused on developing the "Follow the Sun" framework with her manager, giving her the chance to collaborate with different teams and contribute her international perspective to align both global and local goals.
At work, working on the "Follow the Sun" framework has been challenging but rewarding. It’s been great collaborating with diverse teams and learning from their insights. Outside of work, Kraków has been fantastic to explore, from enjoying pierogi and the Main Square to visiting Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains, which was an unforgettable experience with breathtaking views.
Living and working in Poland has shown me how diverse backgrounds shape collaboration. I’ve learned the importance of adapting to different communication styles, finding common ground, and even something as simple as greeting colleagues in the local language to build connections. It’s made me more flexible and open to different viewpoints, allowing me to work better with others toward shared goals.
It’s been a truly enriching experience. Spending part of my traineeship abroad has allowed me to embrace a new culture, meet new people, and grow both personally and professionally. It’s pushed me to step outside my comfort zone and tackle new challenges while continuing to develop in my career.
My international experience has been a perfect mix of learning, exploring, and realizing that stepping out of your comfort zone is where real growth happens.
“My international experience has deepened my understanding of the things that are important for making global collaboration work. I’ve realized it is important to learn and create accommodations for the work culture of our colleagues around the globe in order to find a middle ground for efficient collaboration. A one-size-fits-all model doesn’t always work in every environment. I have learned that it is important to ask questions regarding how others prefer to execute their tasks, to maintain open and continuous avenues for communication, and to be open to making sacrifices to your work schedule when an important meeting needs to be held”, says Izuchi.
I am currently based at Dematic Heusenstamm, Germany. I have been supporting the R&D and engineering team here by developing a braking solution for the DMS in freezer environments and also supporting the development of the ECO conveyors. I have also used the opportunity to learn about and share the differences and similarities between engineering here and at Grand Rapids.
I have had so many great experiences during my stay here in Germany. As an engineer, it’s always a good idea to see how the products you help to create and sustain function in the real world. I had the opportunity to see the amazing capabilities of the Dematic RapidPall, DMS, MCS, and BK10 conveyor, among many other supply chain solutions, at the Dematic Heusenstamm Tech Center and customer sites. In addition, visiting the manufacturing plant in Offenbach and attending LogiMAT 2025 have been inspiring experiences that have developed my understanding of the industry Dematic and KION are a part of.
Outside of work, I have truly enjoyed traveling around Germany and a few other countries in Europe. From training with a local football team in Rodgau, watching a Champions League game in Dortmund, visiting the amazing castles along the Rhein River, to trying the local cuisine at every destination I have found myself, I have had the best time in Germany. Huge thanks to all the friends I have made in the office for their travel and activity advice and suggestions.
A few things stood out to me when I got here. These include the narrow size of roads, the popularity of compact and smaller-sized cars, and the peculiar architecture of industrial and residential buildings. I learned that limited space is an important factor that influences these things. I have also learned that this limited resource is a key design constraint in the job of an engineer at Dematic, which must be considered when developing solutions to meet customer needs.
It is a wonderful foundation for a career with a global focus, filled with great work opportunities, cultural learning, and relationship building.
“My favourite work experience has been the different meetings we had where all team members came together. The environment was very productive and always fun, like working with a group of friends that know each other for long already. As Elancourt is quite close to Paris, every weekend I went to the city to discover the beautiful and divers areas, attractions, restaurants, and culture. With Paris being an unbelievably astonishing city there are always lots of tourists, however I have never seen a city where even the tourist are dressed as nicely as they are in Paris”, says Felix.
From October 2024 until February 2025 I was based in Elancourt, France. During this time, I was supporting the National Key Account Management in their operative and strategic tasks. I was able to participate in a crucial tender while at the same time doing business and process analyzes to enhance our understanding of customers, products, and order processes.
It has broadened my perspective on how different the people work. Even though I was working with many colleagues doing the same job, everybody interpreted a little bit different and consequentially was focusing on their different areas of expertise. Combining this with my knowledge from the German colleagues, I have now experienced many different ways on how to do a similar task in many different ways. This led me to also think about my own tasks from different perspectives.
Before going to France, I had already heard that they like to have “long” lunch and coffee breaks. And when I arrived, I was still quite surprised about the frequency and the extent of the breaks. That was, until I noticed how much they enjoyed taking the time for each other while combining that with work. There was so much business and many meetings being done around the coffee area. I even heard that job interviews have already taken place at the coffee machine.
My time in France was an unbelievable opportunity that has shaped me as a person and consequentially will stay a very positive remembrance throughout my life.
Jacob’s favorite experience was when he had the opportunity to attend a Bundesliga soccer game with Izuchi. This was a unique atmosphere that he has never witnessed firsthand before. “These fans are the most passionate and the games are all day events. Walking in downtown Frankfurt before the game, everyone had a jersey, hat or some sort of team apparel on. It is something that you are not able to grasp through television broadcasts. I also enjoyed the trainee Christmas party that allowed us to get together and have some fun. This allowed us to share our experiences throughout the program”, says Jacob.
I was based in Aschaffenburg, Germany, supporting the Linde production planning and procurement team. I was able to support the lean and operational excellence team while learning the structure and organization of ITS. I also had the chance to assist with their digitalization efforts with Powerbi reporting.
I think it was important to have effective communication throughout the entire international rotation. My colleagues would switch meetings to English to allow me the opportunity to partake and absorb information. But it was important for me to ask questions and clarify when I needed a better understanding of certain topics or tasks. Since English was not their native language, I would also need to ask questions in different ways or utilize a translation app.
My international assignment was over the winter, and this caused some confusion when my colleagues would open the windows throughout the day. I found out this is a common thing referred to as “luften” and they do this to circulate fresh air in the offices
Opportunity of a lifetime!
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