Mercedes Ignores Global Recession, Builds New Stamping Facility

Despite the difficult market conditions brought by the over-discussed financial crisis, Mercedes today announced it will invest approximately 70 million euros in a new stamping facility. The construction of the new building is set to start in 2009, while production is expected to being in the third quarter of 2010, the automaker said in a press statement. The stamping facility for exterior panels will closely work with the Wörth and Rastatt plants and will be aimed at Mercedes-Benz trucks and the successor generations of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars A-Klasse and B-Klasse.

“The decision to construct a new stamping facility is an investment in the future of Mercedes-Benz as well as a clear expression of our commitment to the production location in Gaggenau and to the Murgtal region,” said Dr. Holger Steindorf, Head of Global Axle and Transmission Production for Trucks and Vans at Daimler AG. “Ensuring the location’s economic success is a major priority for us, as it safeguards the jobs we offer in the region.”

Mercedes says that approximately 130 people will be employed once the company completes the first stage of the construction. The new facility will be built in Kuppenheim on a 156,000 square meter plot of land, the German manufacturer explained.“This is one of the most important industrial facilities in the region,” said Michael Brecht, Chairman of the Labor Council at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Gaggenau.

“With this development the plant has taken a further step toward achieving its strategic goals. We would like to thank the managers and the stamping facility’s entire staff for working so hard to create the conditions for making this investment possible. I would also like to thank the mayors Mußler and Wein from Kuppenheim and Bischweier for their highly professional and farsighted support“.