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BMW has built one million cars at its ultra-modern Spartanburg, South Carolina
plant in just 12 years.
The magic millionth vehicle, a Z4 M Roadster in Interlagos Blue with a
Champagne Leather individual interior and custom Ash-Walnut wood trim, rolled
off the line on February 28.
As a mark of the historical significance of the manufacturing plant, the
Roadster will remain at the factory in the Zentrum museum as part of the BMW
Mobile Tradition Collection.
This year also marks the 10th anniversary of BMW Roadster production in the
USA.
BMW was the first automaker to reintroduce a luxury roadster to the public
with the Z3 Roadster in 1996. The Z4 Roadster, the first next-generation vehicle
launched at the Spartanburg plant, began production in October 2002 and the
100,000th Z4 was built in November 2004.
Production of the updated Z4 Roadster and the new Z4 M Roadster began in
January 2006, with the first Australian supplies due in April.
BMW will begin production of the all-new Z4 Coupé and M Coupé will begin
within weeks.
The Spartanburg plant has undergone various expansions and restructurings
since opening in July 1994.
- 1996 Added 300,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Body
and Assembly areas.
- 1998 Expanded Body and Assembly areas to build the X5 Sports
Activity Vehicle, increasing the floor space from 1.2 million square feet to 2.1
million square feet and adding approximately 1,000 workers.
- 2000 Constructed a new 189,000-square-foot shop for the Z4
Roadster, completed a 90,000-square-foot automated warehouse/sequencing center,
an 18,000-square-foot Information Technology Center to house communications and
data services systems and a 60,000-square-foot Performance Center that offers
driving experiences and schools for enthusiasts of all levels and abilities, all
adjacent to the plant.
- 2005 Completed the BMW Information Technology Research Center
(ITRC), dedicated to the research of advanced automobile information technology
on the Clemson University ICAR campus, refurbished the former TNS Mill into a
logistics center, constructed a Process Development Center, which links BMW with
its North American suppliers, and provides pre-production evaluation of supplier
components for U.S.-made BMW vehicles.
- 2006 Demolished the two-line assembly system and converted it
to a single-line system, which allows for additional flexibility to handle
seasonal fluctuation of models, as well as the introduction of new models to
markets in a shorter lead time, and constructed a new high-speed manufacturing
testing facility.
Employment has grown steadily at BMW Manufacturing. When BMW announced in
1992 that it would locate its first North American factory in South Carolina,
the company pledged to employ 2,000 associates by the year 2000. BMW employed
3,000 associates by year 2000 and today about 4,500 associates work at the
plant.
Vehicle production has also increased to meet growing customer demand.
Production grew from 51,878 units in 1999 to 166,090 in 2003.
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