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BMW’S ASPIRATIONS TO THE X DEGREE IN SPARTANBURG: SPECIAL SERIES

1
BMW’s aspirations to the X degree in Spartanburg: Special series
 * 1
   BMW’s aspirations to the X degree in Spartanburg: Special series
 * 2
   Master of complexity in Spartanburg
 * 3
   BMW Batteries blossoming in South Carolina
 * 4
   Ready for the next generation in Spartanburg


Factory Investment


BMW’S ASPIRATIONS TO THE X DEGREE IN SPARTANBURG: SPECIAL SERIES

By Christopher Ludwig15 August 2023

   
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The carmaker is investing in capacity, suppliers and people to prepare for EV
production in South Carolina, with a focus on flexibility, resiliency and
sustainability. Interviews with the plant CEO, Dr Robert Engelhorn, and key
leaders in battery, logistics and training outline BMW’s huge ambitions in the
region.

BMW is preparing to build electric X models in Spartanburg based on its Neue
Klass EV architecture

BMW Group’s vehicle plant, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is big in just about
every way possible.

It is the largest plant by volume globally for the group, with capacity to
produce 450,000 vehicles per year. It has run at consistently high levels even
through the pandemic and chip crises, and output this year is on pace to
increase from the 416,000 built in 2022. The plant’s sprawling 8m sq.ft (740,000
sq.m) campus includes two body shops, two paint shops, two assembly halls,
plug-in hybrid (PHEV) battery assembly and multiple logistics warehouses and
packing centres. More than 11,000 people currently work at the plant.

Its vehicles are big, too, with the plant taking a global lead in producing X
model crossover and full-size SUVs. The variety of its output is as notable as
the volume, as Spartanburg currently builds SUV versions of X3, X3 M, X5, X5 M
and X7 SUV; SUV coupé versions of the X4, X4 M, X6 and X6 M; it added the XM SUV
last year. BMW also builds PHEV versions of the X3, X5 and XM.

Plant Spartanburg is in effect bigger than a plant. BMW Manufacturing Inc., the
local entity covering the plant’s operations, is responsible for exporting
nearly 60% of the models produced here to 120 countries, as well as parts and
kits supplied for assembly of X models in markets including China, Brazil and
Southeast Asia. It also has its own quality and validation processes, which help
the plant to launch new and updated models.

Some functions at the plant have regional or even global responsibility.
Purchasing and supplier development covers regional suppliers across the
Americas, and global suppliers for models where Spartanburg is the lead plant,
including X3 up to X7, and the XM. Logistics planning is increasingly managed in
collaboration with operations at BMW’s plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The IT
group oversees systems across BMW entities in the Americas.

Production flexibility at your fingertips

BMW Spartanburg will manage greater model and powertrain variety when it adds EV
production to Hall 52, where it already builds X3 and X4 models. It will expand
the ’finger’ layout of this hall, extending its dock doors to help handle more
parts numbers

Big as it is, BMW’s ambitions for Spartanburg are bigger still, as it prepares
to add electric vehicle and battery production. BMW is currently investing $1.7
billion in Spartanburg, which includes $1 billion to upgrade facilities at the
plant, and $700m for a new battery assembly centre in nearby Woodruff.
Spartanburg will launch its first new EV – which will be part of BMW’s Neue
Klasse next generation models – in 2026, the first of six electric models that
the plant will build by 2030.

Construction is well underway. At Hall 52, where BMW assembles X3 and X4 models,
a building site now extends from the side that will eventually increase the
assembly area by one-third and increase production capacity by 60% to almost
290,000 units per year. BMW is adapting its body shop for EV requirements, and
adding new logistics areas, too. The carmaker broke ground this summer on the
new battery plant in nearby Woodruff, which will assemble BMW’s sixth generation
battery packs in time for EV production.

Dr Robert Engelhorn, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing Inc, is responsible
for leading this change, and ensuring that the huge operations at the plant –
which produces 1,500 cars per day across two, 10-hour shifts – do not miss a
beat. Across the plant’s manufacturing and logistics, Engelhorn and his team
often speak about the need to “perform as we transform”.

This article is part of our special AMS Evolution North America Series, focusing
on the latest manufacturing advances in North America. You can also learn more
about how manufacturrs including Ford, GM,  Volkswagen, Panasonic Energy and
others are adapting their manufacturing strategies for electrification and
flexible production at the first AMS Evolution North America conference, October
16-17 in Dearborn, Michigan. Find out more here

MASTERING COMPLEXITY THROUGH DIGITALISATION AND STANDARDS

Being flexible and managing high variation in production are at the heart of
these objectives. Spartanburg production has tremendous model variety, part
numbers and options, which will only increase as combustion engine, PHEV and EV
models roll off the same line. “We are proud of the way we handle complexity,
working with our supply base and with our teams to cope flexibly with different
customer demands,” Engelhorn says.

Investing in ‘local for local’ production

BMW Manufacturing CEO Dr Robert Engelhorn points to expansion in battery
production, a new press shop along with training and development as key to Plant
Spartanburg becoming a strong regional base for EV production

The design of assembly halls is one way the plant manages complexity. Hall 52,
for example is arranged in a ‘finger layout’, with each finger – specially
designed extensions of each building – lined with receiving docks from which
small batches of parts move directly to assembly lines, while other parts are
buffered and sequenced. The setup, which was first used at BMW’s plant in
Leipzig, helps BMW to manage production sequences more flexibly and allow
customers to change and update orders up to 10 days before production. To add
EVs to the assembly sequence, BMW is extending these fingers, says Engelhorn.

However, the growth in the plant also requires new approaches to manage
complexity, together with efforts to standardise and simplify operations.
Digitalisation and technology play a role, part of BMW’s ‘lean, green, digital’
ambitions for its iFactory strategy. In Spartanburg, BMW is using advanced
vision systems and artificial intelligence for quality checks across body and
paint shop, and digital twins for planning changes and new model integration to
final assembly areas.

> “We are proud of the way we handle complexity, working with our supply base
> and with our teams to cope flexibly with different customer demands.” -Dr
> Robert Engelhorn, BMW Manufacturing

It is also investing in new automation, including in physical logistics, where
BMW has added a fleet of smart transport robots (STRs) and automated tugger
trains in body shop and logistics centres. Oliver Bilstein, vice-president of
production control, logistics and material control, points to tools and
technology that address staff shortages and help workers focus on value-added
activities.

Battery assembly at Woodruff, meanwhile, will be highly automated and use highly
advanced systems in vision, laser and control technology, some of which is today
found only in paint shop. “Battery production will be like paint on steroids,”
says Rich Everly, vice-president for battery line and responsible for battery
assembly in Woodruff.

LOCAL FOR LOCAL IN CAPACITY, SUPPLIERS AND TRAINING

An approach for BMW has been its ‘local for local’ strategy, which includes
building more resilient supply chains through local capacity and suppliers. In
Spartanburg, BMW is building its first press and stamping plant, investing $200m
in 219,000 sq.ft facility set to open in 2024 using the latest technology from
Schuler. Two regional suppliers produce most of the plant’s current press and
stampings and will continue to serve Spartanburg, but Engelhorn points to rising
demand for body structures, and the opportunity to use cutting edge
technologies. Late last year, BMW opened a new $100m logistics centre that
consolidated two offsite locations, and helped improve handling of export
material.

The carmaker has also set out to build a more regional battery supply chain. BMW
will be the anchor customer for battery cells from a new gigafactory under
construction by AESC located two hours’ drive away in Florence, South Carolina.
AESC broke ground on the factory in early June and will launch production by
2026, when the plant is expected to have capacity to produce 30 GWh of cells per
year.

>  “Battery production will be like paint [shop] on steroids.” -Rich Everly, BMW
> Manufacturing

Investment in skills and capability of current and future employees are also
vital. Last year, BMW opened a new $20m training centre in Spartanburg. It helps
staff learn upcoming manufacturing technologies ­– many of them important to
battery and EV production – including digital twins, advanced robotics, laser
welding, vision systems and mechatronics. The centre has trained hundreds of
employees in high voltage battery handling and will act as an EV training hub
for the Americas. It also serves as an outreach centre to work with students and
apprentices from local technical schools.

“As we make this plant EV ready, we are focused on having the right footprint in
the plant, on having a local supply chain for battery cells and packs, and to
have common qualification and validation for the new products,” says Engelhorn.
“These are all important in our local-for-local strategy.”

These and other investments will contribute to making Plant Spartanburg even
bigger – but also more future proofed and resilient. A flexibility and
“technology open” approach will remain fundamental, including maintaining a mix
of ICE and electric powertrain production for years to come. No one can predict
exactly what customers will demand, but Engelhorn is confident that his
operations will be ready in a big way.






TOPICS

 * Assembly
 * Automation
 * Battery System and Pack Production
 * BMW
 * Bodyshop
 * Digitalisation and Automation
 * Electrification
 * EV manufacturing
 * Expansion
 * Factory Investment
 * Factory Transformation
 * Lean manufacturing
 * North America
 * Powertrain
 * Press and stamping
 * Sustainable production
 * Systems

   
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BMW’S ASPIRATIONS TO THE X DEGREE IN SPARTANBURG: SPECIAL SERIES

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   BMW’S ASPIRATIONS TO THE X DEGREE IN SPARTANBURG: SPECIAL SERIES

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   MASTER OF COMPLEXITY IN SPARTANBURG

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   BMW BATTERIES BLOSSOMING IN SOUTH CAROLINA

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   READY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION IN SPARTANBURG


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