New facility, Mercedes' second engine plant outside Germany, will set standards in latest production processes and innovative Industry 4.0 technologies within the company’s global powertrain production.
20 Jun 2017 | 4872 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
Mercedes-Benz has started construction work at its first plant in Poland, which it says will set standards in latest production processes and innovative Industry 4.0 technologies within the global powertrain production.
“The new engine plant in Poland is a key element in the growth strategy of Mercedes-Benz Cars. With ...
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Mercedes-Benz has started construction work at its first plant in Poland, which it says will set standards in latest production processes and innovative Industry 4.0 technologies within the global powertrain production.
“The new engine plant in Poland is a key element in the growth strategy of Mercedes-Benz Cars. With the new site in Jawor, we are ensuring the efficient supply of our vehicle plants with highly efficient engines,” said Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Manufacturing and Supply Chain. “We are aligning our global production network towards the future and show that we are able to do both sprint and marathon: due to high global demand, we will be producing conventional engines for hybrid vehicles and combustion engines in increasing quantities meeting Mercedes-Benz's proven top quality, and at the same time we are preparing our production network for electric mobility in the long term.”
The new site in Jawor, comprising an area of around 50 hectares, is the second engine production plant run by Mercedes-Benz Cars outside of Germany. Daimler is investing around 500 million euros (Rs 3,822 crore) in the new production site for four-cylinder engines for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars; around 500 jobs will be created.
The official groundbreaking ceremony at the future plant site was attended by Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Finance, Elżbieta Witek, Member of the Council of Ministers, Tadeusz Kościński, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Economic Development of Poland, Rolf Nikel, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Poland, Frank Deiß, Head of Powertrain Production Mercedes-Benz Cars and Site Manager of the Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim Plant, Rainer Ruess, Head of production planning Mercedes-Benz Cars, and Dr Andreas Schenkel, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Poland, as well as other guests from the world of politics and business.
Industry 4.0 and green production
The engine plant in Jawor is expected to combine the latest sector standards with Industry 4.0 and act as a benchmark for engine production. Alongside state-of-the-art technology, digitisation potentials will also be exploited, for example with app-based applications in the areas of personnel and energy management. Responsive production systems are also expected to enable a flexible approach to production, thus making it possible to produce different engine variants on the same line.
“Here in Jawor we have the opportunity to build a new plant for modern and highly efficient engines based on advanced standards and in accordance with our specific requirements,” said Dr Andreas Schenkel. “We have had very good experiences in cooperation with our Polish partners from politics and business, and we are looking forward to the further good cooperation here in Jawor.”
The Jawor site is also expected to set standards in the area of resource-saving production processes: together with energy suppliers and local authorities, solutions for CO2-neutral engine production are being developed, for example through the use of wind power, solar energy or biogas applications.
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