Mercedes-Benz is realigning global passenger car lines, imposing top job
changes and investing in its German passenger car plants.
“We want to continue to grow and will significantly
increase our production capacities in the coming years. At the same time we
want to permanently and sustainably strengthen our competitiveness with a
high-performance organization,” declared Markus Schäfer, member of the
divisional board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, production and supply chain management.
This year,
Mercedes-Benz is managing 18 vehicle ramp-ups at eight locations worldwide,
among them the start of production of the new C-Class sedan on four continents.
by 2020, Mercedes-Benz will have introduced 12 models “which do not have a
predecessor”.As well as
stepping up its international activities, Mercedes-Benz is strengthening it
German plants with over €3 billion of investments this year.
At the
Sindelfingen plant, over €1 billion has been invested primarily for future
products. Another €1 billion goes to the Untertürkheim core plant, amongst
others for the expansion of engine production.
The Bremen
plant's capacity is being increased with around €750 million and further investment
is headed for the Rastatt compact car plant, where the fully-electric
B-Class electric drive has been integrated into series production.
A new
manufacturing organization Mercedes-Benz Operations (MO) has been established
based on global production networks and centralized responsibility for
logistics and quality. Product architecture is the new ‘in words’.
Architectures
“Under our previous production structure, the
individual plants operated largely autonomously. Now, manufacturing will be
organized according to product architectures, independent of individual
locations,” explained Schäfer.
These product
architectures comprise: rear-wheel drive architecture (MRA): front-wheel-drive
architecture (MFA); architectures for SUVs (MHA); the sports cars architecture
(MSA); and finally the powertrain architecture (MPA).
This has been accompanied
by new jobs for some senior personnel, mainly those drawn from the Bremen plant.
For example, the
MRA production network (S-, E-, C-Class) is now led by Andreas Kellermann,
previously head of the Bremen plant.
Michael Göbel has
been put in charge of global compact car production (A-, B-Class, CLA, GLA and
in the future CLA Shooting brake), having previously been responsible for
roadster production in Bremen. This is a big move up for him.
Production of
SUVs (M-, R-, GL-, and G-Class) and sports cars (SL, SLK) is the responsibility
of Jason Hoff, who retains his existing role as president and chief executive
officer of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (MBUSI) in the US. This
suggests his responsibilities in that country have been significantly widened and
deepened.
Peter Schabert,
responsible for global powertrain production since 2010, clearly has his hands full and continues in his present position.
System of modules
Each vehicle and powertrain architecture will draw
on a system of modules and components.
The new C-Class,
for example, is the first model series to be built entirely in accordance with
this principle. The C-Class is Mercedes-Benz's highest-volume model series and
went into production on four continents within six months earlier this year.
Bremen launched first in February, followed by the East London plant (South
Africa) in May, the Tuscaloosa plant (USA) in June, and the BBAC plant in
Beijing (China) in July.
Within the global
production network, Bremen is the lead plant and manages all aspects of C-Class
production from the tooling strategy and quality assurance to the training
of workers from other sites worldwide.
The company aims
to ensure the highest standards are met at all production sites from the
outset. Some 500 employees from plants outside Germany have received intensive
training so that, as multipliers, they can pass on their knowledge within their
home plants.
“Our German
passenger car and powertrain plants form the backbone of our global production
network. The achievements of the teams in all four plants are second to none:
they have done an outstanding job in launching the C-Class at four sites
in such a short space of time,” claims Schäfer.
Ensuring every
production facility delivers the high quality synonymous with the brand is just
one aspect of the redefined quality management function.
“Our quality
remit covers every area of Mercedes-Benz Cars, from product development to
customers,” said Schäfer. He believes that providing innovative manufacturing
processes is also a part of quality management: “It means our designers and
developers are able to launch exceptional vehicles that are equipped with
leading technologies.”
Another factor is
seen as centralized supply chain management, in which all stages of the supply
chain must be seamlessly integrated, from the supplier through to the end
customer. However, everything is not perfect.
“We still face
great challenges in this field, at the same time there is also huge potential
for reducing costs and increasing efficiency,” explained Schäfer.
Daimler claims
that global production networks bring Mercedes-Benz closer to the different
markets and customers and enable it to respond more quickly to changes in
demand, because production can be adjusted in individual plants.
At the same time,
manufacturing in other currency areas enables exchange rate volatility to
be evened out. Significantly, Mercedes-Benz does not manufcature in the UK, one of its biggest markets.
“Given the
expanding range of models, steadily increasing unit figures, and greater
complexity than ever before, we must become significantly more flexible,” said
Schäfer.
This includes
having different variants on the same assembly line, factory equipment being
used for several vehicle generations, and working hours that can be varied
according to demand.
By standardizing
and modularizing its plants, Mercedes-Benz intends to contain the level of
capital expenditure needed and reduce fixed costs.
“It is essential
that we achieve continuous improvement in all disciplines and raise productivity,”
added Schäfer.
The expansion of
alliances, establishment of joint ventures, and use of capacity at contract
manufacturers continues to play an important role in Mercedes-Benz's growth
strategy.
At the end of
June, Daimler announced that it was setting up a production joint venture with
the Renault-Nissan alliance, stepping up their existing cooperation.
The partners
intend to build a new generation of compact cars at a new factory in
Aguascalientes, Mexico, which will have a total annual production capacity of
300,000 units.
Schäfer focuses
on transparency and a collaborative working relationship across all hierarchy
levels, both throughout the company and in his own organization.
“A
high-performance organization depends on the motivation of all employees. The
human factor makes the difference,” he noted.
Safeguarding
jobs
As to the outlook for German plants, Schäfer
declared: “We continue to invest in Germany and thereby safeguard jobs.”
“At the same
time, each site needs to be internationally competitive in its own right,” he
added, citing the most recent example of the Sindelfingen plant, where in July Mercedes-Benz
negotiated a package with the works council. Along with investments totalling €1.5
billion, it included necessary cost optimization measures, ensuring the site's
future viability.
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