From Hildburg Bruns
A screen next to the body shows Sandra Must (30) where to assemble it. If the brake booster is in place, she scans its serial number – safety-relevant parts are digitally archived. So that you know what was installed where.
Paper plans on the hood and stamps are passé. At 120 years old, the oldest Mercedes plant in the world is rapidly moving into the digital future. No more talk of winding up like in 2020.
“Without this plant, nothing works anymore,” says Production Director Jörg Burzer (52), referring to the more than 30 production sites from China to the USA to South Africa.
Ola Källenius (53) replaced Dieter Zetsche (69) as CEO at the end of May 2019 Photo: Charles Yunck
In Marienfelde, individual work steps are tested and sent via app for replication – the latest versions are available every 14 days. 70 people work on the now officially opened digital campus, a three-digit number is aimed for. It is the start of a fully electronic and digital era.
Lucas Reiche (32) was already a trainee at Mercedes. Within ten months, the machine operator qualified as a junior software developer. “It also gives job security,” he says. Mercedes boss Ola Källenius (53) – a Swede – welcomes him and the first ten further qualified colleagues as “pioneers”.
In the hall of the digital campus there are wire cages with robots on the left and right. They are test cells to try out innovations. For example, when a robot is to be supplemented by a second one when gluing. So far, reprogramming has meant eight months of downtime. Now everything is run through on the computer with a digital twin – in just two weeks.
The orange robot in the test cell is to be supplemented by a second one. Instead of shutting it down for months, the interaction is worked out with a digital twin. In the end, programming only takes two weeks Photo: Charles Yunck
“The best products made in Berlin – that’s a great opportunity,” said governing Franziska Giffey (44, SPD) after a short tour. What surprises you when introducing the board members: “It’s great that everyone addresses each other by their first names. It’s rather unusual in the Berlin administration.”
So far, components and engines for combustion vehicles have been built in Marienfelde. The last diesel engine left the factory last week. Now only camshaft adjusters are manufactured. That might last until 2027.
Industrial clerk Sandra Büchler (38) and machine operator Lucas Reiche (32) trained as software developers in just under a year Photo: Charles Yunck
The next step in the Marienfeld future: A production line or two for the most powerful electric motor will be built in the middle of the decade – a very narrow, thin model for top-end vehicles like AMG. In July 2021, Mercedes-Benz took over the British manufacturer Yasa and now relies on made in Berlin.
And this is how the white body looks finished. The EQE sedan is made in Bremen. With a 90 kWh battery, it has a range of almost 650 kilometers Photo: Charles Yunck
How many Daimler employees (now 2350) does the new future need? “I don’t know,” says CEO Burzer. He confirms: “There are concerns in the workforce.” You have to see how everything develops. A three-digit million amount will be invested in the next five years.