Local press
West Virginia University football team visits GEA
01 Jun 2023
GEA recently received a special visit from football players from the Chambers Elite Climbers of West Virginia University (WVU) in Bönen, Germany, as part of an exchange program with Münster University of Applied Sciences (UAS). The sports professionals are enrolled in various courses of study in their home country, including business administration. Since GEA produces milking and feeding technology at its Bönen site, a hackathon on the topic of sustainable milk production was a natural choice. In keeping with the theme, participants also visited a farm that uses GEA technology. Here, for example, the dairy cows are milked with a GEA robot.
Graduate Colby McGill (r.), Product Owner Digital Service Tools at GEA Farm Technologies and Marita Espey (7th from right), Senior Director Communication GEA Farm Technologies with the guests of WVU as well as Münster UAS. (Photo: Münster UAS/ Janine Martschinske)
The contact to the mechanical engineering company was established through GEA employee Colby McGill, who himself had participated in a summer school with WVU as a graduate of Münster University of Applied Sciences. The Münster School of Business (MSB) at Münster UAS and WVU have been working closely together for more than ten years. In addition to sports career development, the "Chambers Elite Climbers" program also aims to help students develop intercultural skills. This includes a visit to various European cities and exchanges with students from all over the world. At GEA, the participants were able to get a taste of mechanical engineering and dairy farming for a day.
On the farm, the participants got practical insights into the everyday life of a farmer. Besides the cows, they could also see the GEA milking robot in action. (Photo: Münster UAS/Janine Martschinske)
After the tour of the farm and the milking robot, Christian Müller, Senior Director Portfolio, Market Intelligence and Sustainability at GEA Farm Technologies introduced the guests to the topic of sustainability in agriculture together with Prof. Dr. Nora Verfürth from MSB. The two keynote speeches were the prelude to the hackathon. Here, teams were to develop solutions on the topic of Next Generation Farming and present them to a jury in 90 seconds. "For the farmer and his animals, the focus is on animal welfare, profitability and sustainable agriculture. All of these must go hand in hand," Christian Müller summarizes. "It was exciting to see how the teams approached these topics with different approaches." Football player Ja'Quay Hubbard takes home a few things from the visit, "I learned that the dairy manufacturing business is much more complex than I thought. There's so much digitization involved."
(From left): Dr. Elizabeth Vitullo (WVU) with son, Prof. Dr. Mike Wasserman (MSB), Jennifer Burkart (MSB), Prof. Dr. Christian Schaupp (WVU), Prof. Dr. Jane Ruseski (WVU), player Garrett Greene, player Graeson Malaschevich, Senior Associate Athletics Director Dr. Coleman Barnes (WVU), player Nick Malone, player Wil Schoonover, Prof. Dr Brad Humphreys (WVU), player Jalen Thornton, player Ja'Quay Hubbard, player Malachi Ruffin and player Jared Bartlett. (Photo: MSB Münster)
"Our visitors fly back to the USA with many new insights and perspectives," Prof. Dr. Mike Wasserman from MSB is certain. Jennifer Burkart, initiator of the Summer School and lecturer in Business English at Münster UAS, is also satisfied: "I am really proud that WVU decided to organize this program for its top student athletes together with MSB. It shows that we have built a great collaboration over the years."
At the hackathon, the groups presented their creative ideas on the topic of sustainability for the farming of the future. (Photo: Münster UAS/Milana Mohr)
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About GEA
GEA is one of the world’s largest suppliers of systems and components to the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries.
The international technology group, founded in 1881, focuses on machinery and plants, as well as advanced process technology, components and comprehensive services. For instance, every second pharma separator for essential healthcare products such as vaccines or novel biopharmaceuticals is produced by GEA. In food, every fourth package of pasta or every third chicken nugget are processed with GEA technology.
With more than 18,000 employees, the group generated sales of about EUR 5.5 billion in more than 150 countries in the 2025 fiscal year. GEA plants, processes, components and services enhance the efficiency and sustainability of customers’ production. They contribute significantly to the reduction of CO2 emissions, plastic usage and food waste. In doing so, GEA makes a key contribution toward a sustainable future, in line with the company’s purpose: ”Engineering for a better world.”
GEA is listed on the German DAX, the European STOXX® Europe 600 Index and is also a constituent of the leading sustainability indices DAX 50 ESG, MSCI Global Sustainability and Dow Jones Best-in-Class World.
