Bremen: Mercedes-Benz

After leaving Wittenberg on Friday morning, we settled in for a four-hour drive to the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen, Germany. We passed the time playing games, listening to music, and reading; we also enjoyed a brief stop for lunch along the way. Unfortunately, traffic conditions resulted in us arriving at Bremen about one hour later than we had originally intended. Nevertheless, we received a wonderful tour upon arriving at the plant.
Formed in 1926, the Mercedes-Benz company is known for their luxury vehicles. Their motto is “the best or nothing”, and John “the Legend”, our tour guide, was sure to emphasize this point while he showed us the various stages of assembly for the cars. Much of the manufacturing process is automated, and it was exciting to watch the mechanical arms assemble the framework of the cars in what seemed to be an effortless manner. Free space in the plant is not to be wasted, so there were multiple times where the casual observer wondered whether the robots would crash into each other or accidentally damage the car parts as they moved them around; however, they were programmed to operate quickly and efficiently, and every movement was coordinated smoothly with the other robots nearby. John also explained that, far from relying too much on the computer and robots to do all of the work, a team of technicians is always on hand to monitor and repair the machines if necessary.
We moved from the assembly floor to the body shop, where the frame of each car is fitted with things like a windshield, seats, etc. John explained that this plant was operational around the clock, with multiple shifts of workers ensuring that the production line never stopped, night or day. With this work drive, the plant produces around 1,600 cars per day! As John put it, “time is money”, and it was clear from the efficiency and streamlined operation that we witnessed that Mercedes-Benz doesn’t plan to waste any of it.
Like every business we’ve had the opportunity to visit on this trip, Mercedes-Benz is committed to preparing for success in the future, and in addition to taking advantage of modern computer and robot technology they also plan to release a fully electric car in 2019. Overall, our class had a wonderful learning experience as we got to see firsthand why Mercedes-Benz is world-renowned and successful today, as well as how they are prepared to continue with that success tomorrow.