Last summer, our two apprentice trainers and 23 apprentices from apprenticeship years 1 to 4 set off on a joint apprentice excursion to Linz. The programme featured both educational aspects and entertainment.<o:p></o:p>
The first stop was at Voest Alpine Stahlwelt (Steel World), where the participants discovered interesting facts about the history of Voest and steel production in the scope of a guided tour. The tour of the plant, which then followed, was conducted by coach due to the size of the facility. The apprentices learned about the process from ore to finished steel. The highlight was the tapping of a blast furnace, which the participants watched from the coach at a safe distance. Tapping is one of the most dangerous operations in the steelworks. The lower closure of the blast furnace is lanced with a pneumatic chisel so the molten pig iron can escape. The smelters have to protect themselves against the radiation of the pig iron, which glows red hot at a temperature of 1400-1600 °C, with shiny silver, aluminised protective clothing, aprons and gold-plated helmet visors. After completing the guided tour, the journey continued with a visit to the former UNO Shopping mall, now Austria's largest e-kart track. On the 600 m race track over 3 levels, the e-karts reach top speeds of 65 km/h! On arrival, however, refreshments were first served in the form of an American BBQ. After the meal, three groups were chosen and a ten-minute qualifying session was held. Then three 20-minute races were held. All of the apprentices really enjoyed the trip, especially the e-kart race, which they will remember for a long time to come.