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Colleagues become friends

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Shan Zhang from China worked for six months at the plant in Serbia. The engineer made new friends and even learnt a little Serbian. Shan Zhang has been working at the Global Re-Engineering Center in Qingdao since two years. There, she develops and validates Urea lines that are adapted to the local customers’ needs.

Why did you go to Subotica?

The main goal was to strengthen technical communication and cooperation between APAC and EMEA. That worked out very well. I still join the regular EMEA urea team meeting via Skype every week.

Impressions from Shan’s bubble assignment in Subotica:

What did you learn?

I learned about the design and validation of high-temperature urea lines, which we don’t produce in Qingdao. I also learned to ask for clarification, if I haven’t understood something. I even picked up some Serbian words.

What did you enjoy most?

The people – they gave me wonderful memories. They also taught me how to dance, for example at the plant’s New Year’s Eve party. I still have the gift they gave me when I left – a cup with the team photo that only becomes visible when filled with hot liquid.

NORMA Group Bubble Assignments

During a Bubble Assignment, an employee works for one to three months at a location abroad. The goal is to increase collaboration between the locations and to learn from each other, bridging different countries and cultures.

During the assignment, each employee has a sponsor in the host country who provides guidance and support.

NORMA Group launched the Bubble Assignment program in 2008. Assignments for a duration of more than three months are also possible in some cases.

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