Mechanical Technology July 2015

⎪ Special report ⎪

its doors ten years earlier and was contracted in 1958 by Daimler-Benz to assemble Mercedes-Benz products. This first unit was dispatched to John Williams Motors in Bloemfontein. Since then, MBSA has entrenched its place in the South African history, having produced 24 different models with the number of units produced per model steadily climbing. The East London plant is on track to double production this year – the significant majority for the export market. “MBSA continues to create jobs, de- veloping the economy and transferring essential skills. Over the years we have always placed emphasis on superior quality in the products we deliver to our customers. For us excellence is the norm and should not simply be an expectation of something that can be achieved in the future. It is also fitting that the one- millionth Mercedes-Benz passenger car produced here today is the latest gen- eration C-Class, which was deservedly announced as the 2015 World Car of the Year in April 2015,” says Mercedes-Benz South Africa CEO and executive director for manufacturing, Arno van der Merwe. Markus Schäfer, member of the di- visional board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, manufacturing and supply chain manage-

The assembly shop at Mercedes-Benz’s East London plant, which has now produced its millionth vehicle.

to 1968; the ‘new generation’ W114 and W115 from the late 1960s; the W116, the first true S-Class, from 1973; and the W124, the first E-Class, from 1986, winner the Car of the Year title in 1987 with the Mercedes-Benz 260E. C-Class production started in 1994 with the production of the W202, the first official C-Class. The W205 C-Class currently being produced is the fourth generation C-Class to be manufactured in the East London plant and, as part of Daimler AG’s flexible production network,

ment adds: “South Africa is an important location in our global C-Class production network. One million Mercedes-Benz passenger cars made at the East London plant illustrates the remarkable develop- ment this location has seen over the years.” Models produced in East London The model line-up from the plant over the years include, amongst others, models in the Ponton series from 1958 to 1962; the W110 and W111 Fintail from 1962

1

2

3

1 . A vehicle enters a chemical dip tank during pre-treatment. The entire body is submerged so that all crevices can receive chemical treatment. 2 . Protected robots seal the underside of the body before painting. 3 . A pre-treated vehicle enters the painting line. Each vehicle receives three coats of paint, starting with an inspection stage where any visible defects are removed.

Stringent quality assurance is enforced by a dedicated quality team, which works to global quality standards. These standards and automated processes applied in MBSA’s new paint shop have significantly reduced rework on car bodies, to the point where South Africa is very nearly matching the throughput statistics of its German manu- facturing plant in Bremen. q

paint is applied using robots. Once primer is applied, the unit enters the primer cur- ing oven, before being transported to the primer preparation deck, where it is again checked for defects and prepared for top coat spray-paint. The second coat or base coat is roboti- cally applied in the specified colour of each vehicle. This is a fully automated high qual-

ity process to ensure consistency. Following passage through the base coat curing oven, a clear coat layer is applied to give a gloss finish and scratch resistance. The quality and finish are inspected at the polish line and in a final step, a wax coating is applied to critical areas of the under body to provide long lasting corrosion protection.

Mechanical Technology — July 2015

9