Mercedes-Benz breaks ground for new car plant in Brazil

Mercedes-Benz has celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony for a new passenger cars plant in Brazil. The new Mercedes-Benz plant in Iracemápolis near São Paulo will start production of the C-class in the first quarter of 2016, and production of the GLA compact SUV will follow in the middle of the year.

“Local production will even better allow us to tap the potentials of the emerging Brazilian market and to respond more flexibly to the wishes of our customers. In the first stage, we are aiming for an annual capacity of 20,000 vehicles. If the market will develop as hoped for, the plant has the potential for a further significant expansion in the future,” said Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, on the occasion of the groundbreaking ceremony. The event was attended by numerous guests of honour from the areas of politics, administration, and economy as well as Philipp Schiemer, President of Mercedes-Benz do Brasil and CEO Latin America, and Dimitris Psillakis, Head of Passenger Cars Sales, Mercedes-Benz do Brasil.

Mercedes-Benz is investing a total of BRL 500 million in the Iracemápolis plant with an annual capacity of 20,000 vehicles. Until the start of production, about 600 new jobs will be created at the plant. In addition, some 3,000 jobs are expected to be generated in the region predominantly with suppliers and service providers.

“With the new Mercedes-Benz plant in Iracemápolis, we will be the only company producing the full vehicle range in Latin America – from passenger cars and vans to trucks and buses. The new plant in Iracemápolis is further proof to our commitment to Brazil. It also demonstrates we keep on investing to fulfil the wishes of our customers in the best possible manner. We are positive about the potentials of the Brazilian passenger cars market,” said Philipp Schiemer.

In terms of selection and recruitment of its employees, Mercedes-Benz is cooperating with SENAI, the Brazilian national service for industrial training, which has more than 800 training centres nationwide. SENAI has set up a new training center in Iracemápolis that will start training in the first half of 2015 already. The recruitment process with a focus on the Iracemápolis region will start in the second quarter of 2015. “Together with SENAI, we want to recruit the best people for our plant. Additionally, we will send selected employees to our existing plants in Juiz de Fora, Germany, Hungary, and India, for targeted trainings. With this, we are ensuring the high Mercedes-Benz quality standards,” explained Markus Schäfer.

The Iracemápolis plant’s level of automation will be significantly lower than in traditional Mercedes-Benz plants. “Machines don’t develop, build, or sell cars –people do. That’s why our focus is on our employees. With this approach, Iracemápolis will be one of the most flexible plants in our global production network, indicating our future trend,” said Schäfer.

 At present, the Brazilian automotive industry is in a jam but it seems to be a temporary phenomenon and both carmakers and suppliers have to have find a way to survive the lean years despite idle capacity.