445 - What companies have you toured?

Before the age of computers, we didn't have the ability to view a companies' operations unless we visited them.

One of the first companies I remember touring was the @Hershey factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

I was born in @Reading, PA so we would take a trip to Hershey each year in the summer.

We had moved to Florida when I was 4 years old and that annual trip to Pennsylvania, (in a car with no airconditioning!!) was a treat.

Can you imagine driving 1,400 miles in a car with 4 kids in the backseat, no AC, no seatbelts and very few rest stops? But I digress...

We toured the chocolate making process in the Hershey factory and I loved watching those big vats of chocolate being slowly stirred.

The highlight was at the end when everyone got a Hershey Bar, of course! 🍫

Over the years, I've always enjoyed seeing how so many products come to life.

We toured a brewery to learn how beer is made (my parents got samples), a dairy farm to see how milk is produced, a specialty chocolatier to watch them make hand-made Easter eggs , a bakery to learn how they make bread.

The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia is very entertaining!! It's a great learning experience filled with history and modern technology.🥤

We visited a car manufacturer🚗, an airplane manufacturer🛩, and a crystal maker when I lived in France.

Recently, I toured the Headquarters of PPLSI, in Ada, Oklahoma.

NO, they do not produce attorneys there! Our network of some 8,000 attorneys spreads across the US and Canada. But it was interesting to tour the home office.

One of my favorite places to visit was @Celestial Seasonings tea in Boulder, Colorado because the smells of the different spices are so enticing.

My son and I wanted them to leave us in the peppermint room where the smell of peppermint must be kept separate from all other spices so it won't permeate them.

Some people couldn't stay in the peppermint room for long without their eyes watering.

Celestial Seasonings even allows you to sample every tea they make.🫖

They told us that some people come and spend the day sipping their way through the entire list of about 100 different teas. Luckily, there are restrooms available.

Like visiting a museum, taking a tour of a company is fun, entertaining, educational and can spark new ideas.

I'd love to hear about an experience you had touring a company.

What companies have you toured?