BMW has announced that it will invest more than $200 million to construct a 219,000ft
2 press shop at its South Carolina plant, creating more than 200 new jobs.
The new facility, which will start production in the summer of 2024, will take raw coils of steel, cut them into blanks, and stamp sheet metal parts for future BMW models. Those components include hang-on parts such as the vehicle’s four doors, fenders, exterior body sides, and lift gate.
Dr Robert Engelhorn, BMW manufacturing president and CEO, said: “The BMW Group is known world-wide for the outstanding quality produced by its press shops. We are excited to add this new technology to Plant Spartanburg. This investment reinforces BMW’s commitment in the USA and South Carolina. We continue to play a major role in the region’s economic strength as well as workforce development and job training.”
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, said: “BMW’s presence in South Carolina for nearly three decades has driven the dramatic growth of our automotive industry and paved the way to our state’s global reputation as an automotive powerhouse.
Highly-skilled manufacturing jobs A ‘state of the art’ press shop requires manufacturing jobs with advanced-level training. These jobs include tool and die technicians, electrical and mechanical maintenance for automated machinery, and specialised line operators.
More than 45 people are currently training at BMW Group press shops in Leipzig, Germany, and in Swindon, UK.
Karl Loessl, vice president, Body Shop, said: “Inside our global production network, we share best practices and train associates to the highest BMW standards. The cross-functional collaboration is part of our BMW culture.
“This world-class training will allow our associates to work with advanced technologies and systems and support our production of future models.”
The press shop marks the beginning of the automotive production process. Large steel coils arrive at the press shop, where they are unloaded from trucks using 55-ton overhead cranes. The steel coils are then fed into the blanking line, where the steel is cut into individual ‘blanks’ (rectangular cut-offs or special shapes). These blanks are then ready to be fed into the press line.
Plant Spartanburg’s Press Line will consist of five press (stamping) stations. The line will be equipped with servo technology, which enables BMW to significantly increase the output performance of the presses. Using an overhead crane, each station is loaded with the correct press tool (die).
The blank is fed into the first press station and transferred from one station to the next by a crossbar feeder robot for additional forming and trimming operations. The press line is capable of running up to 18 strokes per min.
After the parts are stamped, they go to quality control for inspection and are then stacked into racks ready for delivery to the body shop production line.
Dr Engelhorn continued: “Having a press shop on site is part of BMW’s localisation strategy where we produce our major parts where we need them. This ensures the highest quality, efficiency, and consistency in body shop parts for our customers.”
While Schuler will manufacture the automated press line, all tooling for Plant Spartanburg’s press shop will come from BMW tool shops in Eisenach, Munich, and Dingolfing.
Since 1992, the BMW Group has invested nearly $12 billion in its South Carolina operations. BMW Manufacturing is the largest BMW Group plant in the world, producing more than 1,500 vehicles each day and a record 433,810 vehicles in 2021. The plant exports nearly 60% of its vehicles to around 120 global markets.
For eight years, it has been the largest exporter by value in the USA. The model portfolio includes five top-selling BMW X models, four Motorsport X models, and two plug-in hybrid electric vehicle X models.
The all-new BMW XM, the first electrified high-performance hybrid model in the BMW M portfolio, will begin production in late 2022. The factory has an annual production capacity of up to 450,000 vehicles and employs more than 11,000 people.