Tour of the BMW Plant - Spartanburg, SC

For several years, we've driven by the BMW manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, SC.  And each time, we say, "We need to do a factory tour".  Well, this time we did it!

We were in Greenville, SC for the FSU-Clemson game over the weekend.  We put in a full day of driving the day before so we could do the 10:00 tour at BMW. 

Now that Frank has his "job" as a BMW Ombudsman, it's very appropos for him to have taken such a tour.  And the previous weekend, we learned that a soon-to-be-family member worked at the BMW Plant for 14 years!  So when Jermaine told us about the areas in which he worked at the plant, I had a hard time picturing what he was talking about.  But not after today!

I used to think BMW stood for Bavairan Motor Works.  After today's tour, it now stands for "Beyond My Wildest" dreams/imagination!  Frank has been a long-time BMW owner and was like the kid in the Disney commercial, "I'm too excited to sleep".  :)

This place was amazing...in size and operation!  We were able to spend a little bit of time in the Zentrum museum and read about the history and timeline of BMW. 

Time for the tour.  We were outfitted with stylish safety goggles and headphones. (Note:  I would insert a picture here, but we were asked to hand over any devices that could take pictures as they are not allowed in the plant.)

Some interesting details about this plant in Spartanburg:

• There are 4500 employees at this facility.
• They run 2-10 hour shifts (Mon-Thu) and 1 10-hour shift on Friday.
• They produce 600 cars a day.
• They only produce X3, X5 and X6 model vehicles in this location and those are delivered around the world.  
• They only produce cars that have been ordered (either by a customer or by a dealership).  There is no surplus inventory sitting around anywhere.
• They use methane gas from a local landfill as energy to run the painting department. 

The automation and sequencing is amazing!  Yes, they have robots that do a lot of the work, but there is still a lot of human intervention and follow-through involved.  So, back to the sequencing.  Each car is given a specific number, (kind of like our social security numbers) and that number has all the details (exterior color, interior color, kind of seats, kind of wheels, kind of tires, kind of electronics, trim packages, etc.)  In addition, this number tells what side of the car the steering wheel must be on, type of engine (hybrid, gas or deisel), what country the car will be delievered to, etc.   For example, there are times in the process where the doors may be separate from the vehicle, but through an unbelieveable system, they match everything up.  Each part is 'in stock' at the right time and right place along the assembly line.  And systems have been designed from an ergonomic standpoint. 

They do not manufacture many of the parts for the vehicles, except the engines, and rely on various vendors. And because of the sequencing, if the vendors do not have the parts there when they are supposed to be, they can be fined several thousand dollars a MINUTE!  That's how exact the sequencing is!   Once the vehicles are assembled, there is a full round of testing.  Obviously this is a VERY condensed version of the process!  You can tell the BMW employees take pride in their work and enjoy working for such a great company. 

As we were leaving, we noticed this motorcycle in the museum:

It was a great experience and interesting way to learn more about the 'birthing process' of the cars we enjoy driving.