BMW. Sheer Driving Pleasure

Munich is the original location for BMW. The company began making airplane motors, but moved into motorbikes and cars when Germany was not allowed to make plane engines following WWI. Now the multi-national company has plants in many countries including Greenville, S.C. On a visit to the museum and plant today, we got to see a short movie on the BMW company history and its products as well as take a plant tour where we saw the 50 hour process it takes to make one car.

The factory here produces around 900 cars per day. With the advances in technology, 98 percent of the process is completed by machines that have amazing maneuverability. In other car factories, the maximum number of welding that can occur is 10 spots at one time. BMW has the ability to have twelve welds at one time. The production line is producing three different cars at the same time. The laser system and computer tracking system are able to tell the machines what type of car and it exact location to allow for precise work and installation of parts.

Before the cars begin the painting process, they are wiped over with ostrich feathers, specifically emu feathers, which cost around 70,000 euros per year. These feathers are known to pull dust and particles from cars to ensure a smooth paint process. The car is covered with fill, or the material that is seen if the paint is chipped and then sent through the color process. Customers can choose from nearly 30 standard colors or can get any specialized color for a nominal fee! If you ever wondered why metallic colors cost more, it is because the process of applying that paint is more difficult to ensure the car surface remains smooth. During the drying process, the cars are sent through infrared lights, which suck the moisture from the paint.

Currently the most popular color is silver with around 35 percent of all cars being this color. A popular color in the US is white, but this color is not popular here because of the danger blending in when driving in snow, fog and rain. The factory only receives supplies as they need them with deliveries coming 30 minutes before. Knowing that traffic or other happenings could disrupt this, the factory has a storage room that houses enough materials to continue producing for up to four hours if supplies aren’t received.

Cars here are made for countries that have driving on different sides of the road. To accommodate for this, the car piece is created to work for either design and the holes on the side not being used are filled in during the assembly line process. One part that I really liked was their community relations. Because the factory is adjacent to homes, the company has meet and continues to meet with the homeowners to ensure the factory does everything it not to be disruptive.

Following the factory tour we ventured through the museum where we could see all the different models of the BMWs and drive a simulation car to see some of the features the cars offer. It is unbelievable the intricate process it takes to make a car from start to finish with such high quality.