The 1.2 million square foot assembly facility is in tooling stage, while expansion construction to the existing Paint Shop is also complete and new equipment is being tested. A new 1/3 mile conveyor system has been constructed to connect the expanded paint shop to the new assembly hall.
A logistics warehouse has also been built as part of the new assembly facility.
“We are very pleased that construction is nearly complete and that the project is on budget and on time,” Josef Kerscher, BMW Manufacturing president said. The budget Kerscher talks about stood at $750 million.
“Many new and innovative technologies have been implemented into the new Paint Shop area. This is exciting for the entire BMW Global Production Network as we are creating synergies and increased efficiency by implementing lessons learned from around the globe,” Doug Bartow, BMW Manufacturing vice president added.
One such technology is a new “RoDip” system, to replace the former "pendulum” system, which carried the car along a rail and lowered it under the water. The new “RoDip” system rotates the entire vehicle 360 degrees through each process tank. This reduces the amount of chemicals that are removed from the tank and reduces chemical and dirt deposits inside the vehicle.
When it will be ready, the new paint shop and assembly facility will be used by BMW to manufacture the BMW X3, X5 Sports Activity Vehicle and X6 Sports Activity Coupe and their respective variants for some 120 markets worldwide.
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