BMW World - BMW Manufacture

The inside story of how BMW's are made...

This unique glimpse inside the BMW plant at Dingolfing, Germany, was produced in March 2002. It describes the manufacture of the new E65 7 Series. The techniques presented here provide a rare look inside BMW walls.

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More BMW plants... The BMW USA plant at Spartanburg.

About 100 kilometers east of Munich sits the BMW Plant in Dingolfing, the biggest production facility within the BMW Group. Approximately 21,000 people are employed at the Dingolfing Plant, where they manufacture up to 1,300 units per day, or 280,000 automobiles a year.

The Dingolfing Plant started production in September 1973. Approximately 5.5 million BMW automobiles have come off the production lines since then – all 5 Series and 7 Series generations produced up to now, the 6 Series and 8 Series models as well as now and again 3 Series models (depending on market demand) have been manufactured ther

The Dingolfing Plant has a very flexible layout in order to meet the demands of its highly diversified production. Various model series – sometimes up to four different models – are run on one single assembly line. This is the rule than the exception at the Dingolfing Plant. At the moment the Dingolfing Plant is in charge of the production of all 5 Series and 7 Series models, the assembly of some of the 3 Series models and the production of the painted body of the Z8 Roadster, which is later passed on to the Munich plant for completion and final assembly. For many years the Dingolfing Plant has done an excellent job of processing aluminum, which is essential in the manufacture of complete aluminum bodies.

The Dingolfing Plant, which is integrated into the BMW Group’s worldwide network of production, does not only produce automobiles, but also delivers parts and components (such as suspensions and pressed parts) to the other plants. Similarly, the BMW plants in Munich and Steyr/Austria provide the Dingolfing Plant with engines. The Landshut Plant delivers propeller shafts and shock absorbers.

Moreover, the BMW Plant in Dingolfing comprises the central parts store of the worldwide BMW trading organization. Each day nearly 100 lorries and several dozens of railway carriages leave the component supply center in Dingolfing and set off for more than130 different countries the world over having a cargo of original BMW spare parts.

The Dingolfing Plant not only excels in its flexibility but also enjoys an excellent reputation as far as the quality of work is concerned. Each year this reputation is verified by the American market researchers "J. D. Power and Associates" with the bestowal of the renowned J. D. Power Plant Awards. Meanwhile this award for outstanding quality has been given four times in a row and altogether five times to the BMW Plant in Dingolfing.

As quality, flexibility and productivity call for highly qualified associates, the proportion of skilled workers in the Dingolfing Plant is about 80 percent. In addition, the permanent investment of money in the development of technologies as well as production processes result in the constant creation of new manufacturing methods and make the plant a technological forerunner that always makes use of the very latest technologies. This fact is illustrated by the following example: The BMW Plant in Dingolfing is the only plant worldwide to use the powder-based clear coat technology. Between 1999 and 2004 about 2.2 billion Euros were invested in the BMW Plant in Dingolfing, amongst other things in the development of cutting-edge technologies and methods.

The most recent product within the Dingolfing line of products is the new 7 Series model that entered series production in July 2001. The start of production coincided with the initial use of a new high rise store, which makes possible the realization of the so -called customer-oriented sales and production process (KOVP). Thanks to the intermediate storage of painted bodies the allocation of orders can be postponed to the start of assembly, thus enabling the customer to alter his order up to 12 days before delivery within Germany.

The permanent update of all production processes at the Dingolfing Plant is a prerequisite for the production of highly complex automobiles like the new BMW 7 Series model. In addition to that, it strengthens the position of the plant within the worldwide production network.

"There is no other consumer good which is as complex as the automobile. Its production involves the complicated and perfect interaction between thousands of people and components – a fascinating aspect of production", says Dr. Norbert Reithofer, member of the BMW’s Board of Management, who is in charge of production.

Flexibility

The new BMW 7 Series model in particular marks the beginning of a new era of automobile construction. This automobile, which sets a benchmark in the luxury performance segment, constitutes an enormous challenge as far as production is concerned. Each vehicle that comes off the production line is tailor-made, it is customized for the customer with respect to the engine, color, interior trim and the model version.

The following example reveals the complex tasks the production plant and the BMW engineers and production specialists are confronted with several hundred times a day and which they master perfectly: The possibilities of variation, the new BMW 7 Series model offers, amount to 1017 – that is "100,000,000,000,000,000", which is an incredibly high number.

Employees play a vital role in the production of premium products of supreme quality apart from perfected production processes supported by state-of-the-art facilities.

"The existence of path-breaking technologies and processes is important, but even more important is to use them efficiently and to constantly develop them even further, because Business is People", underlines Dr. Norbert Reithofer.

World-wide Network

The BMW Group’s worldwide network of production and development ensures that expert knowledge and know-how, which has been newly acquired or gained over the last decades, is used consistently throughout all plants. Thus the BMW Group has learned at an early stage to attach the greatest importance to the creation of a network in order to optimize its own resources and to take advantage of synergy effects.

This powerful network with its most important branches allows the BMW Group to react quickly and most flexibly to the ever-changing demands of the customers and developments on the market. These locations are:

Munich
Dingolfing
Landshut
Regensburg
Berlin
Leipzig (from 2005)
Steyr (Austria)
Spartanburg (USA)
Rosslyn (South Africa)
Oxford and Hams Hall (Great Britain)

The application of uniform standards as to quality, safety and processes within the network makes possible the worldwide production of products of supreme quality, that is products "Made by BMW", or to put it simply: "Premium production of premium products".

Sustained production

Sustained production in the sense of a careful use of resources is an integral part of all decision-making processes. For us the BMW Group sustained production is not only part of our entrepreneurial philosophy and adhered to in theory. It is also put into practice.

"It goes without saying that orientation towards the societal and ecological environment is most important for us as is the adherence to supreme quality standards", says Dr. Norbert Reithofer.

The BMW Group was the first automobile manufacturer worldwide to have its production plants certified with regard to environmental compatibility.

This decisive step was already taken many years ago. The BMW Group has taken the lead in the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index several times.

This fact underlines that the BMW Group has not only followed the right path but also is well advanced in this respect.

Having signed the international declaration of "Cleaner Production" as part of the United Nations’ ecological program in September 2001, the BMW Group took a further step to consistently strengthen the case of sustained production. "Cleaner Production" is aimed at the prevention of adverse impacts on the environment during production. The declaration provides for the use of environmentally friendly technologies right from the beginning of the production process, not only at the end of it.

The following gives you an example: Between 1996 and 2000 the sewage water produced during the production of one unit was reduced by 17 percent from 1.27 m³ to 1.06 m³. In the same period the energy consumption dropped by about 20 percent from 3.94 MWh to 3.16 MWh.

Flexibility in making changes and excellent time management. The BMW Group has once again set a new benchmark as far as the realization of the customer-oriented sales and production process KOVP is concerned.

The following gives you an example of the flexibility when altering orders:

With the introduction of the new BMW 7 Series model the BMW Group launched a system which will be gradually applied on all new models. This system allows the customer to alter his order of the body variant regarding the engine, color and equipment up to about one week before the commencement of assembly.

The following gives you an idea of online ordering:

When the customer places an order with the dealer, the latter determines the feasibility of the individually configured vehicle via this system within a few seconds, orders the vehicle online, makes a reservation for production and informs the production logistics dept. about the new order. The system immediately returns to the customer the confirmation of order as well as information on the exact date when the desired car will be delivered.

"Enhancements are particularly useful if they entail true advantages for the customer", says Dr. Norbert Reithofer.

The motto "Business is People", flexibility, excellent time management, sustained production within the network are all examples that prove the considerable enthusiasm for truly outstanding mobility that has always stimulated the BMW Group’s entire workforce’s constant inspiration and initiative.

"As soon as you set foot in a BMW Group production plant you will experience the fascinating power of production in a gripping way", says Dr. Norbert Reithofer.