Trip to Ulm (11/01/07)

 

RATIOPHARM

On Thursday 11 January the South African group of students left for Ulm on the border of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. We departed at 7:45 from WHO, the quarter in Tübingen that we stay in. Being in Tübingen for almost two weeks the extra sleep on the bus was very welcome! Some students however still had enough energy to sing a few songs on the bus ride.
At 9:30 we arrived at Ratiopharm, a leading company in the production of generic medicine. It is the pharmaceutical brand most commonly prescribed and they pride themselves in the selling of good quality medicine at relatively low prices. Once we arrived Ratiopharm was further introduced to us by a presentation were we learned about the history of Ratiopharm and the Merckle family as well as the growth in the biotechnology fields and Ratiopharm’s current success. From its start in 1974 until known it has grown to a company that produces up to 750 different types of medicine and products. The presentation was followed by a tea break were the famous German Pretzel was served!
We were then guided on a tour through the factory were we could see the advantages of being an employee of Ratiopharm, which ranged from a kindergarden, restaurant and even a laundromat. The most fun part of the guided tour was where we had to dress up in order to apply with the health and safety rules of the plant. We looked liked surgeons waiting to go into the operating theatre! We were dressed in coats with protective foot and head gear!
The tour through the packaging area was the most impressive. Everywhere machines were busy with thousands of bottles and cartons were filled with liquids and pills and running on fast conveyor belts while you could hear the compressed air operating the valves and pistons of the machines. It was amazing to see how integrated and controlled the process is.
After the tour we were treated to lunch at Ratiopharm and it was so nice to have some fresh fruit and bred rolls! The highlight of the trip was the moment we sang our South African songs and all the employees were listening from the balconies.
We would like to thank Ratiopharm for our really nice bags and the opportunity to see the factory. We then departed to town centre of Ulm.
Ulm is a town that steals your heart with the various historical sites which it houses. It is home to the sometimes eccentric genius Albert Einstein a man who stood for many things, one of them being freedom of expression. So, it was appropriate that the group was taken to a newspaper house.
The media, in any country is a reflection of the society in which it operates in. To both South Africa and Germany, the media is an aspect of our democracies which are fiercely protected by the law as well as the readers or listeners or viewers it wishes to inform.
After an interesting media seminar with Stephen yesterday, we were equipped with some basic knowledge of how the media works in both South Africa and Germany and had made some comparisons between how both media industries work.
We hopped off the bus and waited in Südwest Press’s large reception to meet our host for the afternoon. Editor, Detlev Ahlers ushered us into a room which had already been prepared with refreshments and eats. Once we had settled down, a discussion on various topics relating to the media ensued.
The one resounding point which was made was the importance of the independence of the media in Germany, which is protected by the basic law of their constitution. Somewhat different from the South African media’s inner mechanisms, there is a system of regional newspapers in Germany. There are around 150 regional newspapers in Germany that have larger circulation than their three to four national counterparts.
(Ahlers utilises his readerships´ taste as a tool which guides him as to what makes up the content of his newspaper). Other restrictions include non-glorification of violence, pornography, insults or rabid political statements.
In addition to discovering the methodology which the editor employs in deciding the subject matter of his newspaper, trends were also discussed. The most important one about German readers being that about the distinctive reading culture Germans have. Ahlers noted that 100 years ago, people were reading fewer newspapers, but tended to read the paper from cover to cover. Today, although there are many more readers, they scan through the paper, spending less time reading the entire publication.
After an hour of discussions, we left the headquarters of Südwest Presse with a greater understanding of the media's integral part of Germany. Detlev Ahlers had to rush off, because as we all know news is created every minute of every hour - there are stories to fill the newspaper with!

Elinda Viljoen and Nadia Padayachi