This year marks a historic milestone for Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz Manheim plant, for it was 100 years ago that this location kicked off production under the joint stock company Benz & Cie., Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik.  To celebrate the milestone, Mercedes today has published a fantastic look back at the history of the plant, detailing both its origins and its evolution over the past century.  For those of you unfamiliar with the plant or the history of Mercedes in general, I think you'll find both intriguing and informative.

Because of its length - there are a total of seven parts in all - I'm going to let the press releases take it from here.  Regular programming will commence, however, following the Mercedes-Benz Manheim plant coverage.

So without further ado, we'll kick things off with a brief introduction of the plant, and be sure to stay tuned for a total of six more Mercedes-Benz Manheim plant installments.

Enjoy ladies and gentlemen.



OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


100 years at a single location: Mercedes-Benz Mannheim – a plant of Daimler AG

• A plant with a fascinating biography
  
  
• Official opening on October 12, 1908
  
  
• Origins date from the work of Carl Benz
  
  
• Around 7.5 million commercial vehicle engines since 1949
  
  

For Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz Mannheim plant, the year 2008 represents a major anniversary, for it was this very site, in the newly built plant belonging to the joint stock company Benz & Cie., Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik in Mannheim, that witnessed production start-up 100 years ago. The facility on the slopes of the Luzenberg in the suburb of Mannheim-Waldhof was officially opened on October 12, 1908. Benz & Cie. had bought the 311,000-square-meter site back in 1906, and construction work based on plans drawn up by the architect Albert Speer began in 1907. By the time of the opening ceremony, an area of around 35,000 square meters had been built on with factory buildings.

The Mannheim plant has enjoyed a highly varied career in its 100 years to 2008. This was where the first Benz passenger cars were produced, followed later by Mercedes-Benz models.Mannheim then became a commercial vehicle plant, before finally specializing in the production of buses. Other important activities include engine production and the casting of engine components. In its centenary year, the Mannheim plant is part of a historic tradition that goes back even beyond the year of its foundation. For it was in Mannheim that Carl Benz developed his two-stroke gas engine back in 1879 – a feat of engineering that was to provide the spark that would later give rise to the development of the modern automobile in 1886.

Copyright © 2008, Daimler AG