We left our hotel in Haslach and embarked on a day of travelling as we headed north to Münster. We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the hotel and the following morning we jumped on the bus to the home of Kaldewei in Ahlen.
The Kaldewei Iconic World building is an incredible space. Built on the original site of Kaldewei, the floor plan of the original building has been preserved as a reminder of the “home” of Kaldewei and the company’s history.
Our host, Brandi Bridges, head of Iconic World, gave us a most informative tour of Iconic World and we were able to spend some time engaging with a range of products – some of which had been launched the week before at ISH. We also had an opportunity to delve behind the scenes and view the area where much of the testing and engineering takes place to see how the company tests and perfects its products.
We were also able to test some of the products for ourselves – dropping bowling balls directly onto steel enamelled trays, for example, or using a wire brush, nail polish and direct flame to test the resilience of the surface.
We were then taken across to the factory where we followed the process of creating these products. We saw the steel in its original form and then were it was formed around the mould and how it evolves from the raw product through the stamping process, to the enamelling process, to the firing process and all the way to the quality control. Such is the level of quality control at Kaldewei that the employees working in this section only do 30 minute shifts before they cycle to a different task. This is to ensure the eyes checking every product are as fresh as possible.
Another delicious lunch was served then we enjoyed a free afternoon to rest, pack, work etc… Later that afternoon we took taxis into the centre of Munster for a guided city tour and a sumptuous dinner at Altes Gasthaus Leve.
We can’t believe the tour has come to an end so quickly but we’ve all had an amazing time and enjoyed such fabulous hospitality from our sponsors. Thank you Kaldewei!
For more information visit kaldewei.de or bathe.net.au
