Meeting a group of people at the airport is an intriguing aspect of manufacturer trips.
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| The group at Heathrow |
I knew only one person before coming on the journey, namely the host, Jody Lees, Head of Air Conditioning and Energy for LG in the UK. Spotting who else could be in the group in the crowd of travellers at Heathrow's Terminal 2 was going to be a challenge. There were seven of us going out with LG to tour their factory and some installation in Korea.
What's the first tactic in this industry to use when meeting a group of strangers at an airport?
Stand by the bar, of course. You can almost guarantee that one of the group would make a beeline for the bar, order a beer, and then stand there waiting to see which people looked the most likely to be part of the group.
Stand by the bar, of course. You can almost guarantee that one of the group would make a beeline for the bar, order a beer, and then stand there waiting to see which people looked the most likely to be part of the group.
Which is exactly what I did.
And, sure enough, along came a couple of guys that were definite candidates, not least because one of them was wearing an LG polo shirt. Soon afterwards, more of the group arrived, all from different companies, and gathered at the bar to introduce themselves.
The group is made by a mix of consultants, contractors and end users from the building services sector, namely Sam Doick (MITIE), Martin Perrin (Bublshop), Allan White and Will Holley (both from Buro Happold), Alan Moreton (JCW Energy Services), Jamie Lavis, Jody Lees and me.
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| Jody Lees from LG |
The group is made by a mix of consultants, contractors and end users from the building services sector, namely Sam Doick (MITIE), Martin Perrin (Bublshop), Allan White and Will Holley (both from Buro Happold), Alan Moreton (JCW Energy Services), Jamie Lavis, Jody Lees and me.
Quite quickly it was obvious that this was going to be a riotous week. One of the group, Martin, had set up a Facebook Group so we could share all photos and comments amongst the group for the week. Alan had injured himself playing football and was quickly put into a wheelchair by the airport staff. This turned out to be a boon for him getting past the queues at the security gate.
Once through security, we converged on an 'airside' bar to get in some beers and a burger before the flight. Terminal 2 at Heathrow is a pretty civilised place to hang out now since they refurbished it.
It was a good chance to learn about some of the group. They are an interesting mix of people specialising in areas such heat pumps, specifying building services solutions, and air conditioning solutions. Certainly, the trip was going to be interesting to all of them to see what makes LG tick in its factories and research centre in South Korea.
Next came the trek to the gate which was going to take up to 30 minutes, according to the airport information boards. Fortunately, we got there quicker than that and made the obligatory calls back home before the flight.
We boarded and then faced the 10.5 hour flight to Incheon airport which serves Seoul. My next door neighbours grasped the final moments of internet access on their smartphones.
On the menu, was a choice of either Korean food or European. Jody encouraged to go with the Korean food, namely the 'Bibimbap'. The kit came as a kit of vegetables, beef and sauces which, the steward said, I would need to mix together to make the dish complete.
The paste came in a tube which I generously splashed over the dish. After two mouthfuls, I realised that my generosity with the paste had been a little over-zealous which came out as a series of hiccups and sweating. Nevertheless, it was delicious and the heat soon died away after washing it down with a a Korean beer and some soup.
Soon, afterwards the lights dimmed in the cabin and the thermostat must have been turned up, I expect, to encourage us to get some sleep. The next few hours, as we flew over Russia, Mongolia and China, passed soon enough until our flight path veered around North Korea before touching down.
At the other end, after probably the swiftest move through passport control and customs (whose officials were mainly wearing masks to prevent the spread of MERS), we came out to meet Mika and Terry, our own LG paparazzi team.
Mika quickly organised us with our ID cards and a group photo before herding us into an awaiting, beautifully cool bus. Terry snapped photos of us all, and would do over dinner too. Mika had obviously read 'How to Make Friends and Influence People' as she stated how handsome we all were and made sure we could access the internet through the mobile WiFi dongle she had with her (They think of everything...).
Seoul is a massive conurbation with some of its old buildings at its centre. We passed one of its old city gates before arriving at the swish Hilton Hotel with an impressive lobby. Mika handed out our room keys and ordered us to be back downstairs at 7.30pm for dinner.
As ordered, Mike greeted us with a hug, a smile and instructions to make our way to the buffet dinner in the hotel. The food on the buffet was overwhelming. If Korean food was to be like this for the trip, then I think we were all going to be happy.
One dessert (above) intrigued a couple of us. Ice cream Korean-style?
After dinner, we hit the town and eventually made it to the centre of the city to experience bars in Seoul on a Saturday night before making it back for a jet lagged sleep at 1.30am. What a day.
Once through security, we converged on an 'airside' bar to get in some beers and a burger before the flight. Terminal 2 at Heathrow is a pretty civilised place to hang out now since they refurbished it.
It was a good chance to learn about some of the group. They are an interesting mix of people specialising in areas such heat pumps, specifying building services solutions, and air conditioning solutions. Certainly, the trip was going to be interesting to all of them to see what makes LG tick in its factories and research centre in South Korea.
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| Calling home |
On the menu, was a choice of either Korean food or European. Jody encouraged to go with the Korean food, namely the 'Bibimbap'. The kit came as a kit of vegetables, beef and sauces which, the steward said, I would need to mix together to make the dish complete.
The paste came in a tube which I generously splashed over the dish. After two mouthfuls, I realised that my generosity with the paste had been a little over-zealous which came out as a series of hiccups and sweating. Nevertheless, it was delicious and the heat soon died away after washing it down with a a Korean beer and some soup.
Soon, afterwards the lights dimmed in the cabin and the thermostat must have been turned up, I expect, to encourage us to get some sleep. The next few hours, as we flew over Russia, Mongolia and China, passed soon enough until our flight path veered around North Korea before touching down.
At the other end, after probably the swiftest move through passport control and customs (whose officials were mainly wearing masks to prevent the spread of MERS), we came out to meet Mika and Terry, our own LG paparazzi team.
Mika quickly organised us with our ID cards and a group photo before herding us into an awaiting, beautifully cool bus. Terry snapped photos of us all, and would do over dinner too. Mika had obviously read 'How to Make Friends and Influence People' as she stated how handsome we all were and made sure we could access the internet through the mobile WiFi dongle she had with her (They think of everything...).
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| Mika |
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| Mika's Union Jack finger nail |
As ordered, Mike greeted us with a hug, a smile and instructions to make our way to the buffet dinner in the hotel. The food on the buffet was overwhelming. If Korean food was to be like this for the trip, then I think we were all going to be happy.
One dessert (above) intrigued a couple of us. Ice cream Korean-style?
After dinner, we hit the town and eventually made it to the centre of the city to experience bars in Seoul on a Saturday night before making it back for a jet lagged sleep at 1.30am. What a day.
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