Mercedes Benz Bremen

Today we had the opportunity to visit the Mercedes Benz Bremen plant. It was an extremely stimulating experience which was only enhanced by our amicable guide Max. Despite only learning English 4 years ago he still gave us an informative tour. When we first arrived, we were led into a giant welcome center that displayed 3 different models of cars, unique seating areas, a merchandise shop (that had everything down to nail polish), a kid’s playground, a Virtual reality simulator and a mini cafe.

We were then handed headsets we could use to hear Max as we went along in the noisy environment. We had the opportunity to walk through the part of the factory that dealt with the body of the car so we got to see an actual assembly line of parts moving through via these giant machines and conveyor belts. In the second section of the tour we got to see the attachment of doors, windows and engines. Our group asked a few questions during this time but everything was “top secret”. We unfortunately weren’t allowed to take any pictures of the actual production.

It was so fascinating to see the combined efforts of 95% robotics and 5% human engineers working on the cars. It was really clear that the workers were specialists in the field and Max pointed out that within their 8 hour shift they switch duties so as to not get bored.

I’ve always been a fan of the European car company so I’m so glad I got to see it first hand today.

Mercedes-Benz in Bremen with Max!!!

The tour at Mercedes-Benz was super cool to get to see the customer service area, the body shop, and the logistics area for the cars in the manufacturing plant. Our tour guide Max was great to explain and show us a little bit of everything in the manufacturing process. 


At the customer area, we watched a six minute video about how Mercedes-Benz car is more safe, industrial, and well constructed compared to their other competitors. The video discussed that they use a large amount of steal for each car. There is thousands of welding points throughout the manufacturing process, which was crazy to think about. The end of the video explained how Mercedes is ready for the future in innovation and technology. The Mercedes hybrid car was an example that will be produced more in the future. 


One of my favorite parts of the tour was the body shop. It was so cool to see how the beginning process of building a car works. It was interesting to learn that the body shop has 95% of robotics with 5% workers. I thought more workers would be involved in the beginning process of making a car since it is important to begin making the car correctly. 


I was impressed with the company by how many checkpoints and safety checks they would do in the manufacturing plant. Their workers would check if the car is built correctly, and then fix it immediately if there was a problem. Max showed us where the workers would check if the bolts were drilled in correctly. There was a green light if the car was good to move along the line. 


Overall, I really enjoyed the Mercedes-Benz manufacturing plant. I thought it was a great experience to see how a car is created from the beginning to the end. After this tour, I am second guessing to get a Mercedes car in the future when I am able to afford it. 

Day 20 – Bremen & Mercedes Benz

We did not have an early event today, so we slept in a bit. Then toured Bremen in groups seeing churches, statues, the square, the Schnoor (old fishing village), etc.

In the afternoon we toured the Mercedes Benz plant where they make 10+ car models. It was very interesting to see the inside of the plant. We have some pictures of the showroom and concept cars, but were not allowed to take pictures inside the plant.

We ate another traditional German dinner, including 2-foot long curry wurst. We thanked our awesome bus driver Joop. Then we toured the city at night.



Mercedes Benz

Disclaimer: I also am writing about Mercedes-Benz, so if you’ve read other students blogs on this you probably won’t read anything new here. If not, I guess you might as well read this one.

Here we go. Today we had the opportunity to tour the Mercedes-Benz manufacturing in Bremen, Germany. I’ve never considered myself very in to cars, so I probably wasn’t as excited about this visit as some other students on the trip. However, as soon as we stepped into the the visitors center I was fascinated. From the energetic tour guide we had and the car models they had on display, to the massive manufacturing buildings and amazing robots that we saw in action, the 2 hours we spent touring te facities flew bye for me. 

As we walked through the facility it was incredible to watch the robots work on all the cars. I always imagined that robots at these places were designed to make one type of car, but these robots were able to work on parts for 10 different car models interchangeably. 

Some of the quick stats that stood out to me over the tour were that this facility:

  • produces 1,800 cars a day and 420,000 cars year
  • Has 12,000 employees and a ridiculous amount of robots (that’s a lot of people and things to keep in order).
  • Produces cars for over 200 other countries 

By the end of the tour I had decided that this was my favorite of the tours we had. Maybe it’s because we were able to sleep in today, so I had some extra energy, but I think it had more to do with the overall tour experience. Mercedes-Benz is really a very cool place to tour and if you find yourself around a manufacturing facility I’d recommend giving it a look.

Looking forward to getting back to America!

Mercedes-Benz

After weeks of waiting we finally took our visit to Mercedes-Benz. As some one who loves cars I was very excited to finally see a car factory in action.

So what did we see? The plant itself was huge, much larger than any factory I’ve been to in the US or Europe. Not only were the building quite large, but were also connected via bridges, which made moving large chassis between locationz easy. The factories aslo use automation in very creative ways. For instance, instead of creating larger square foot floors, the company had a sytem of elevators and conveyors to tske advange of vertical space. Parts of frames would be moved above the assembly lines and dropped down when neaded. In the second plant this same process would be used to move entire chassis around the plant. It was very cool to see the size of the robots and mounting equipment they used while still managing to maintain the tolerance of a single stamp throughout the car. They msnages this by using aeveral different check points, whi CNN were stops on the line thst used lazers to measure the chassis as it was constructed.

A few things bummed me out though. First, the plant did not make the gtr, which is by far the coolest car they make. On a more serious note, they guide they provided was difficult to understand. Normally I wouldn’t think this a big deal, but I was very excited to learn about this plant, and I felt like he had a lot of cool things to say that I just couldn’t hear.

All in all I enjoyed our visit and would reccomend anyone who has a chance to go should.

Mercedes-Benz

Today we visited a massive Mercedez-Benz plant in Bremen. To give you an idea of its size, it produces about 1,150 cars per day and employs 12,500 people. We got to see a minimal part of the complex, but it was extremely interesting.

The tour started off with a short video about the plant, and a little bit about their production process. Our tour guide then brought us into a building where the cars were at their simplest states. We witnessed countless automated arms putting together the frames of the cars. These arms would apply strong adhesives or do spot welding extremely efficiently on one frame, then quickly move on to the next.

The next building housed the later stages of the production process. The car frames were much more fleshed out, being painted and finished on the outside. This building featured human workers installing features in the cars, one after another. They would be installing the dashboard in one station, putting in seats in another, and so on. The chassis of the car, including the engine, axels, brakes, and such was then brought from another building and then the frame was placed onto the chassis. It was incredibly smooth and efficient.

I was very impressed by the visit. So much was going on in the plant, but it all ran smoothly and in the end produced a beautiful car. I might just have to look into buying a Mercedes someday in the (far away) future.

Mercedes-Benz

Before our visit to Mercedes-Benz Lee and I have a quick devotional and some basic information on the plant in Bremen. The Devotional was on if you are a spectator or a participant. Many of us go through our spiritual life, going through the motions. We watch people accomplish Gods mission instead of participating in Gods mission ourselves. It is important to remember that God has given us all gifts so we can participate in Gods mission.

When presenting some of the information that we found on the Bremen plant we didn’t know if what we found was real. According to the google they assemble over 420,000 cars per year which is 1,500 cars per day. We were told when we got their that it is actually 1,800 cars per day because they don’t like to work Saturday or Sunday, because Saturday’s are for pubs and Sundays for church. Beginning this year the facility will manufacture the first electric vehicle of the new product and technology brand, EQ. In the future this plant will produce an entire range of intelligent drive system technologies.

Post Germany Reflection

I really enjoyed exploring around cities in Germany. I know some German going into the trip so the biggest joy I had on this trip is being able to speak to the locals in their own language. There were some fun things that I have learned while in Germany specifically with the culture.

One of the biggest things that I have noticed is how Germans like to take their time during their activities. This can refer to eating at a restaurant, taking a break from work, or just walking slowly in the streets. Generalizing Americans as people who are always on the go it is really nice to see people taking time in their days to relax and enjoy life. This concept reminds me of a sermon that I heard a while ago. The sermon was talking about New Years resolutions but there was a twist. The pastor was suggesting that when looking at our own lives, think about what we could take away or omit from them to make life better. Most people think about what they could add to their lives to make it better however very few think about what they can take away. This new absence gives them the time to relax, listen to God, and simply enjoy life. 

Coming back to America, I hope to do that. I hope to enjoy life at a slower pace and enjoying the here and now instead of racing after the future. 

Mercedes-Benz Plant in Bremen Tour

Today, we visited the Mercedes Benz plant in Bremen and it was absolutely incredible. We walked into their customer service and showroom and got a peak of their current master piece vehicles as well as the future of Mercedes. Before we started the tour, we got some quick facts from Spencer that are a little shocking. During their 5-6 day work week, the Mercedes Benz plant in Bremen produces 420,000 cars every single year, and they have over 12,000 employees. Unfortunately, the timeline for one vehicle was considered “classified information”.

Walking through the various buildings in the complex and seeing how every part of the car was made, made it clear to me how they could possibly produce at the numbers they do. In parts of their plant, they are up to 95% robot automation in their assembly which was fascinating to watch all of them move at the same time. Along with that, every robot can work on every car seamlessly, and it was interesting to see a sedan followed by a SUV followed by a convertible. They also use every square inch of their facility when producing their vehicles which shows how much they value efficiency. Like our tour guide said, “they aren’t building a car, they’re building your car” and they want it to be perfect so every extra thing they do has a unique purpose to increase the overall value of the car to the customer.

Overall, I thought it was a great visit. The facilities were very well put together and we got to learn a ton about how they operate with robot integration. This was absolutely my favorite visit of the trip!

Mercedes-Benz Tour

Today we visited the Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Bremen, Germany. This is currently the biggest Mercedes-Benz production facility, producing 10 different models and about 1800 cars per day. They also employ about 12,500 people.

The first thing I noticed when walking into the factory was the massive amount of automation. Almost every step in the production process was automated, meaning there were surprisingly few workers around. This was for the car frame assembly. There were more specialized workers when we got to the internal parts assembly. They would install things like seats and electronics while the cars slowly moved down the assembly line.

Another interesting thing I noticed about this factory, and seems to be a trend with all the factories we visit, is that it was very clean. Specifically, the floors were very well swept. A tour guide at another company said the reason for this cleanliness was that it creates a better atmosphere for the workers.

While it was a very interesting visit, one downside I noticed was that the work environment didn’t seem as inviting as some other companies we visited. I wasn’t able to see a strong community between the employees there, which I see as an important part of the workplace.

Here’s a cool concept car.