By taking a J-Term study tour to Sweden, Carthage junior Ben Welser hopes to gain a better understanding of how companies do business internationally and how that differs from in the United States.

Ben, '13, a marketing major from Freeport, Ill., was among 15 students who got a head start on that comparison Monday, Jan. 9. They visited Bruno, an Oconomowoc company that makes vehicle lifts, stair lifts and other mobility-assistance devices. One of the stops scheduled on this month's 16-day tour of businesses in Goteborg, Sweden, is Autoadapt, a subsidiary of Bruno.

J.J. Shields, an assistant professor of business administration, leads the study tour for the second straight year. Prof. Shields worked for a Swedish company for more than a decade and compiled a lengthy list of contacts during the five years he traveled regularly to the Scandinavian country.

His goal for the students is to "open their eyes to business." The firsthand visits are designed to provide context for their academic lessons.

Students met with Bruno's director of engineering William Belson III.

"This is stuff you'll never learn in a classroom — ever," he said.

Staff members at Bruno detailed the company's product line, then gave a tour of one of its production facilities. Plant manager Paul Valentine described how the company has embraced the concept of lean manufacturing to increase productivity. Students also heard the story of the firm’s founder, who became a successful entrepreneur on his fourth try.

"If you start out and it doesn't work out, don't lose your drive for it," William Belson III, director of engineering at Bruno, told the group.

Most of the Sweden-bound students are business or marketing majors, with a few others sprinkled in. Laura Taylor, '13, a biology and neuroscience major from San Diego, said the tour will be valuable because marketing expertise is needed in every field. She was also drawn to the schedule Prof. Shields laid out, which features a series of intensive meetings with business executives but also leaves time for participants to attend hockey games, take curling lessons and explore other attractions.

Students toured facilities at Bruno, an Oconomowoc company that makes vehicle lifts, stair lifts and other mobility-assistance devices.