The expansion of BMW's Spartanburg County factory in South Carolina has added 1.5 million square feet to the production site of the BMW X3, X5, and X6. With an investment of $750 million into the expansion project, the Spartanburg plant will see a new 1.2 million square feet assembly facility and 300,000 square feet added to the existing paint shop. Several new technologies were borrowed from other BMW plants, including the Leipzig plant in Germany.
The new assembly facility is currently fully enclosed and getting equipment installed. A logistics warehouse has been added to the new assembly facility to ensure leaner processes and quicker delivery routes. Similar to the Leipzig plant, the Spartanburg plant was designed using "fingers," which are constructed along the sides of the new plant to allow for direct deliveries to the exact point of use on the production line. To connect the new assembly hall to the paint shop, a new 1/3-mile conveyor system has been constructed.
The expanded paint shop will now utilize a new "RoDip" system. This new conveyor system will rotate an entire vehicle 360 degrees through each process tank, which includes pretreat and e-coat processes. The rotation process reduces the amount of chemicals that are removed from the tanks and reduces chemical and dirt deposits inside the vehicle. Prior to the "RoDip" system, BMW used a "pendulum" system similar to a ski lift, which guides a vehicle along a rail and lowers it under the water.
Once construction has been completed, BMW's Spartanburg plant will manufacture X3, X5, and X6 vehicles for over 120 markets worldwide.
Source: BMW Group