Factory Tour Surprises – Stinky, Delicious, Loud and WOW!

Tillamook Cheese Factory TourMy first recollection of a Factory tour was on my father’s shoulders at the age of 3 pinching my nose for what seemed like forever as we wandered amongst huge vats of swirling colored liquid in a cheese factory.  I was miserable. Flash forward and we just visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory on the rural Oregon coast.  The experience was wonderful.  I tried Cheese Curds for the first time in my life and really liked their light texture and flavor, and now I finally know what Little Miss Muffet sat eating on her Tuffet.  Who knew?

If you have never taken a Factory Tour you are missing out.  You most likely don’t need to travel more than a few miles from your home to enjoy this adventure.  Factory tours are not restricted to the U.S.  We’ve been on factory tours in Europe, Caribbean, Latin America and all around the U.S.

Samples at the Tillamook cheese factoryWhat is remarkable about them is that while we are getting the inside view we are learning, meeting the locals and adding to our overall arsenal of understanding about how our world economies work.  They are adventures for our mind and senses.  Just the automation and machinery is a marvel to enjoy.  Each time I come away in awe that “this little item” that I take for granted in my life has such a rich history and so much engineering and ingenuity have been harnessed to bring it to me.  It often makes me feel insignificant but at the same time privileged to live in a time of such amazing innovation.

 

Our faces on a giant lid of Ben & Jerry's Other Factory Tours we’ve enjoyed are the NASA in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Harry & David’s in Medford, Oregon, Monaco Motorhome Factor in Coburg, Oregon, Waterford Crystal in Waterford, Ireland, Hershey’s Chocolate Factory tour in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Bacardi Rum tour in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Ethel M Factory (home of M & M Candies) and Cactus Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream in Waterbury, Vermont.

 

My wish list of Tours would start with these:

The Fragonard Perfume Factory at Grasse, France

Gibson Guitars in Memphis, Tennessee

Harley & Davidson Motorcycles in York, PA,

Caves de la Veuve Clicquot Champagne making in Reims, France

Intel Museum tour of the famous computer chip manufacturer in Santa Clara, CA

Future of Flight and Boeing Aircraft tour in Mukilteo, Washington

Volkswagen –VW Factory and Autostadt Factory in Wolfsburg, Germany

Guinness Beer Factory in Dublin, Ireland

Cuban Cigar tour in Havana

Harry & David production lineOn a recent tour of Harry and David’s food gift basket factory in the small Oregon city of Medford, we learned they were just hiring 5000 ( YES 5,000) workers for the last quarter of the year to support the Christmas season sales season.  The economic impact of this on the local economy is huge and consequently the local loyalty to the company is felt when talking with people.  The factory was impressive, critically clean, processes clear and very transparent to guests.   There was a small fee of $5.00 each, but we did receive a coupon that we could have used in their store at the end.

 

It says a lot about a company that they are willing to open their doors and expose themselves to inquiring eyes.  When touring the Monaco Motorhome factory in Coburg, Oregon we were hosted by a shop foreman that talked about lean times and employees having to learn multiple jobs to keep the place running.  The workmanship from the cabinetry, the fabrication and the painting was amazing.

Christmas light show at Ethel M Chocolate factoryMost of the factory tours provide some samples.  Even the Waterford Crystal factory in Ireland gave us a little token gift when we left.  Chocolate factories are a favorite and we especially enjoyed the Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Cactus Garden Christmas lighting ceremony in Henderson, Nevada outside Las Vegas.  It was free, the garden a novel and beautiful surprise and the samples generous.

Sometimes you can just make friends and ask for a tour at a facility you are interested in. We’ve done this with a Printing plant in Mexico and a Shipyard in Jacksonville, Florida.

Wineries and Farms are technically factory tours too, and are a wonderful way to learn about the economy and agrarian way of life.  We’ve learned that most of the wineries are happy for you to bring your own picnic lunch, buy a glass of their wine and wander their beautiful grounds.

The Bacardi Rum factory in Puerto Rico shared the importance of sugar cane through the centuries, the hardships of the class system that developed from that and the importance Rum production has had on the entire economy of the Caribbean.  We were invited at the end of the tour to enjoy their outdoor bar area where we had a wonderful afternoon with an interesting view, trade wind breezes and delicious drinks.

The biggest impact of these tours for us has been in our financial education and the personal stories we’ve heard from our local hosts.  We have a better understand of the challenges our fellow citizens are facing and how un-generic the regional communities remain despite the standardization of the global businesses like McDonalds.  They have become an entertaining learning experience of the communities we visit.

 

Resource Links:

To find a factory tour near you checkout – FactoryTour.com

    Watch It Made in the U.S.A.: A Visitor’s Guide to the Best Factory Tours and Company Museums

  National Geographic Ultimate Factories DVD Collection

VisitorTips.com –  A GREAT RESOURCE- These are the Brochure stands you see in all attractions. Get all the local brochures before you go, coupons, maps etc.  They also have an app.

 
 
 






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7 thoughts on “Factory Tour Surprises – Stinky, Delicious, Loud and WOW!

  1. Nice post, you guys. You mention a few types of tours I wouldn’t have necessarily thought of. 🙂
    Like you, I also really enjoyed Ben & Jerry’s Factory tour. Another I enjoyed was Theo Chocolates in Seattle, the 1st organic/Fair Trade bean-to-bar maker in the U.S. Clearly, I think of yummy treat tours 1st! 🙂 I also enjoyed the Nissan plant near Nashville, TN. As you said, it’s fun to get a behind-the-scenes peek at how the things we enjoy without much consideration are created. Here’s to more adventures, near and far!

    • Welcome aboard Damon. Looks like the Caravan has another great contributor. We wish we’d known about Theo Chocolates when we were up in the Seattle a few months ago. Another great reason for us to return to that fair city. We love your point that adventures don’t have to be far. Sometimes we don’t have to go anywhere to spark our curiosity and be on an unexpected path of exploration. We look forward to your future comments. Thank You!

  2. My favorite tour was the Cardu Whiskey Distillery in the Highlands of Scotland. If you hang around after the tour and ask lots of questions about the other single malts that are made and used to blend Johnny Walker – you might be offered some of the different and unique whiskey that are produced by this leading distiller.
    Tons of fun but bring a driver with you! The Whiskey Trail can be hazardous!

    • Bruce terrific to hear from you again. My mind instantly was in the Highlands, cloaked in plaid, seeking a warming toddy. What a tempting tour to hope to do one day. Thank you so much for your story and strategies for making the tour into more of a personal experience. There is also the Kentucky Bourbon Trail http://kybourbontrail.com/ and who knew the Japanese have a fledging Whisky Trail too. The highlands of your comment still hold the most mystic. So glad you shared.

    • Hi Bruce it’s terrific to hear from you again. My mind instantly was in the Highlands, cloaked in plaid, seeking a warming toddy. What a tempting tour to hope to do one day. Thank you so much for your story and strategies for making the tour into more of a personal experience. There is also the Kentucky Bourbon Trail http://kybourbontrail.com/ and who knew the Japanese have a fledging Whisky Trail too. The highlands of your comment still hold the most mystic. So glad you shared.

  3. I laughed a lot remembering the pinched up nose and screwed up face in the cheese factory when you were three,Suzanne.
    I turned to see what it was others in the crowd were looking at and there it was..
    my sweet little daughter being so rude. Kid’s tell the truth as they see or Smell it.

    • It’s funny the things that stick in our memories isn’t it. I find it funny that we both remember that incident. It’s a fun memory of a family trip where we were all exploring. I guess you got us kids started early stretching our curiosity muscles. Thanks Mom! And yes, kids do tell the truth, if not in words then in actions.

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