At Mercedes-Benz Trucks, today saw an important milestone celebrated in the company of numerous special guests. Together with Malu Dreyer, Minister President for the State of Rhineland-Palatinate and Dr Volker Wissing, Minister for Economic Affairs and Transport in the Rhineland-Palatinate region, Stefan Buchner, Member of the Board of Management Daimler Truck AG, responsible for the regions Europe and Latin America and the Mercedes-Benz truck brand and Thomas Zwick, Chairman of the Works Council at the Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant opened the extended Development and Testing Centre in the southern Palatinate region, eighteen months after the foundations were laid.
Around 50 million euros have been invested in the centre of competence for the development of trucks – amongst other things for a new test stand facility for testing both individual systems and complete vehicles as well as an office and workshop building. In addition, around 20 million euros went towards the ultra-modern road-to-rig test stand for comprehensive testing of Mercedes-Benz trucks in real time. The complex is a further integral part of the Mercedes-Benz Truck Testing Campus and went into operation in 2019.
Stefan Buchner: “The new development and testing capacities perfectly complement the activities of our truck production in Wörth. By bundling the development scopes, Mercedes-Benz Truck’s largest plant has gained in importance, offering attractive jobs in the southern Palatinate region that are secure in the long-term.”
Prof. Uwe Baake, Head of Product Engineering at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, adds: “Our new road-to-rig test stand for trucks is one of the most modern in Europe. Thanks to its precise simulation of driving, we have taken testing and measuring for conventional and alternative drivetrains from the road into the testing hall and are thus making an important contribution to sustainability and relieving public roads.”
Malu Dreyer: “The state government is very well-aware of the significance of the automotive industry for Rhineland-Palatinate’s economy. It has become one of the most important sectors in the state. For both myself and the state government one thing is certain; together with manufacturers and researching bodies, we want to make the commercial vehicle industry in the state one of the winners of the digital transformation process.”
Dr Volker Wissing: “Increasingly Rhineland-Palatinate is developing to become a pacemaker for new developments in the vehicle industry. No matter whether it’s autonomous driving, new drive systems or state-of-the-art testing facilities – innovations are made in Rhineland-Palatinate. Investments made by companies show that excellent conditions prevail for industrial plants in Rhineland-Palatinate. We can look forward to the future with optimism. The development work that is being carried out here, will ensure that Rhineland-Palatinate firmly establishes itself within the automotive industry in the long-term.”
“In commissioning the extended development and testing centre, more than 100 attractive jobs will be additionally anchored in Wörth. And the majority of these jobs in Wörth will be newly assigned jobs. They therefore offer attractive places of work as we’re bringing highly modern and future-oriented technologies to our location,” says Thomas Zwick. “From other perspectives, too, the new jobs are extremely interesting: the design of the new workplaces takes into account the individual activities of the colleagues. The requirements which are derived from this have been placed in central focus. Even the aspect of ‘ergonomics in the workplace’ has been consistently taken into consideration.”
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SOURCE: Daimler
