Mercedes-Benz to invest €170 million in Germany press shop

Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz has announced an investment of €170 million (Rs 1,275 crore) at its Kuppenheim press shop in Germany, consequently creating 200 additional jobs at the plant.

The new press line supplies the nearby Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt and Kecskemét and Finnish contract manufacturer Valmet Automotive with body stampings made of various different steel and aluminium types. This creates a highly competitive network of closely integrated production facilities in Baden-Wuerttemberg’s Murgtal region in Germany. The portfolio covers various stages of the added-value process, from parts, components and modules to the final assembly of compact vehicles.

“Kuppenheim II is part of the Mercedes-Benz Cars growth strategy. In expanding Kuppenheim and integrating the facility into our global press shop network, we are bundling the stamping production for the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt. This paves the way for future growth of our current generation of compact cars. Top priority of the expansion was the efficiency and flexibility of the equipment. This enables us to respond flexibly to customers’ demand and market requirements and boosts our international competitiveness,” explained Markus Schäfer, member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management.

“We will continue to invest in the Kuppenheim plant. In the next step, we will add a body shell shop which will produce modules and components for the next generation of compact cars from Mercedes-Benz”, Schäfer announced.

Since 2011, the Kuppenheim press shop has been producing body components for compact vehicles and Daimler Trucks in a facility covering 92,000 square metres of floor space. With the new press line, the existing press shop has been expanded by an additional 25,000 square metres of production and storage space.

At the official start of production, Michael Brecht, chairman of the General Works Council at Daimler AG, said, “When the decision for the new press shop in Kuppenheim was taken, we couldn’t imagine the future importance of this plant. With the integration of the plant into the passenger car production network and the additional bodyshell production, Kuppenheim is now a cornerstone of the Gaggenau plant. The substantial expansion of the plant is the result of successful negotiations between Works Council and management. From the beginning, the colleagues in Kuppenheim have dedicated themselves to creating a bright future for the plant.”

Industry 4.0 in new press shop

In expanding the press shop, Industry 4.0 is applied. The goods management system, for example, works 100 percent paperless. All processes are electronically documented and forwarded, from orders by the Rastatt plant through production and logistics processes to delivery to the Rastatt body shell shop. Its servo drive reduces the power consumption per produced part and increases output. The new automatic front-of-line area in front of the press ensures a smooth supply of pre-cut sheet-metal blanks.

How it works

- First of all, a robot equipped with a special camera system and special software examines all produced parts.

- Afterwards, the highly qualified personnel refer to the results of this inspection when carrying out their final appraisal of the parts. This computerised support for the personnel in performing their responsible work was first introduced at the Bremen plant in 2014. The new stacking system for finished parts in Kuppenheim also takes the strain off the personnel by automatically placing the sometimes bulky parts in the waiting special load carriers. A barcode on the load carrier then indicates the transfer location to the logistics personnel.

- Lastly, the so-called laser blanking line cuts the aluminium and steel sheet-metal parts to size before they are formed into plates in the press. The special feature of this process is the cutting of the blanks by laser, and that the material is continuously fed into the plant. This completely eliminates the complex process of producing the previously required large cutting tools.

The centrepiece of the expansion is a state-of-the-art six-stage XL servo press with a total pressing force of 9,100 tonnes, which is 120 metres long, 12 metres high and weighs a total of 3,850 tonnes. Vibration dampers consisting of giant steel springs on the foundation ensure that the vibrations resulting from the operation of such vast presses are completely absorbed. Large and complex outer skin components such as side walls, bonnets and doors for the compact vehicles will be formed to perfection on this press in the future. A new try-out press in the same building serves to prepare new or reworked tools for production.