Mercedes-Benz Plant in Mannheim: A Chronology

1866	Carl Benz becomes draftsman and designer at a scales factory in Mannheim
1871	Benz and August Ritter set up a mechanical workshop on the plot known as T 6, 11 in Mannheim
1879	Benz two-stroke engine
1882	Gasmotoren-Fabrik Mannheim founded with financial backing from Emil Bühler
1883	Benz, Rose and Eßlinger found Benz & Cie., Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik
1886	New factory building goes up in Waldhofstraße
1886	German Patent No. 37435 awarded for the Benz patent motor car
1887	Move to new plant premises, Waldhofstraße 24
1888	Bertha Benz’s long-distance journey from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back
1893	Technical laboratory for developing and testing cars
1895	Benz builds the world’s first motorized bus for regular service
1899	Benz & Cie., Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik in Mannheim converts to a joint stock company
1900	Benz & Cie. becomes the world’s leading car manufacturer

 

1903	Carl Benz steps down from company management, returning in 1904 to take a seat on the supervisory board
1905	Benz & Cie. returns to profitability after economic crisis
1906	Benz & Cie. purchases plot measuring 311,180 square meters on the Luzenberg in Mannheim-Waldhof for a new plant destined for car production
1907	Construction work begins based on plans by the architect Albert Speer
1907	Fritz Erle wins the Herkomer Trial in a 50 hp car
1908	Official opening of new plant on October 12
1909	Move to new premises completed successfully
1911	Following three-year development work, Mannheim plant begins production of aircraft engines
1911	Company name changed to Benz & Cie., Rheinische Automobil- und Motorenfabrik AG
1912	New repair workshop built using reinforced concrete
1914	Benz shares launched on Mannheim stock market
1915	15 women employed at the Mannheim plant for first time
1916	Training department established
1921	Department for stationary engines sold off as Motoren-Werke Mannheim
1923	Series production of a four-cylinder diesel engine for tractors and commercial vehicles
1924	Joint venture between Benz & Cie. and DMG
1925	City of Mannheim renames two streets bordering former plant Carl-Benz-Straße
1926	TH Hanover pays tribute to Carl Benz by driving to Ladenburg via Mannheim in a Benz Comfortable of 1895
1926	Merger of DMG and Benz & Cie.
1929	Rumors about possible plant closure in Mannheim
1930	Wave of redundancies begins; by 1932 the global economic crisis accounts for the loss of almost 90 percent of all jobs at the plant
1933	Reopening of the foundry, closed since 1930, and full employment returns for production of the Mercedes-Benz Mannheim and Nürburg models
1937	Mannheim plant launches truck production
1939	During the Second World War, the plant employs 448 prisoners-of-war and forced laborers from concentration camps, as well as 1,249 civilian foreign workers
1945	US army occupies plant on March 23
1945	In spite of 20 percent of all facilities being destroyed, production of the three-ton L 701 truck starts up again in June 1945
1949	Introduction of new Mercedes L 3250 truck from Mannheim
1949	Production start-up for new 300 engine series
1949	The O 3500 is the first bus to come out of post-war Mannheim production
1949	Remanufacturing of engines for commercial vehicles begins
1951	All Mercedes-Benz bus production concentrated at Mannheim
1953	Plant introduces vocational school education
1953	L 4500 truck presented at the IAA
1954	The O 321 H is the first bus to feature the semi-integral design approach of a highly rigid frame floor assembly welded to the body
1954	Mannheim plant introduces plant suggestions scheme
1955	Mannheim is Europe’s largest bus plant

 

1957	Premiere of the first modern large-capacity bus by Mercedes-Benz, the O 317
1960	Largest commercial vehicle plant on the continent
1965	Truck production moved from Mannheim to Wörth
1965	Opening of new foundry
1968	Differentiation of bus series into coaches and urban buses
1970	Construction of new production halls for engine assembly
1972	Production start-up for new generation of commercial vehicle diesel engines, the OM 400 series
1974	Enlargement of vocational college by the addition of seven new teaching rooms in lightweight construction
1977	Acquisition of flywheel and gear rim production from Untertürkheim and part of textile production from Sindelfingen
1978	Introduction of paint robots in engine assembly
1978	Series production of crankcase core in “cold box” process at the new core shop
1979	The public road Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Straße becomes part of the plant premises; number of western plant gates cut from six to one
1981	Construction of a new administration building
1983	Production of the two-millionth commercial vehicle engine since 1949
1983	Conversion to district heating supply
1984	Modernization of the bus plant and foundry
1984	O 405 – second generation of standard bus
1985	O 407 – new standardized inter-urban bus
1988	Large-scale production starts of the 600 engine series
1989	O 405 N – almost ground-level entry in an urban bus
1990	Cataphoretic dip priming used in bus production
1991	O 404 – a pooling of top technology
1995	Foundation of EvoBus GmbH with Mercedes-Benz and Setra
1995	100th anniversary of the bus
1996	Presentation of the Innovisia research vehicle, a bus featuring technology of the future
1996	Production launch of the Integro interurban bus
1996	Introduction of the first fuel cell powered bus NEBUS based on the O 405
1996	Presentation of the Cito urban midibus
1996	Large-scale production of the OM 904 LA engine series and engines from the 500 series
1997	Premiere of the innovative Citaro regular service bus
1999	New Mercedes-Benz Travego touring coach
1999	Expansion of the cataphoretic dip priming facility
1999	50th anniversary of remanufactured engines from Mannheim and 300 engine series
2001	New delivery hall
2001	Official opening of the design studio for Mercedes-Benz Buses
2001	Premiere of the new interurban Conecto H bus
2004	Opening of used bus center
2005	Introduction of Citaro low-entry vehicle
2007	Investment in the “synchronous factory” with a view to modernizing production
2007	Renamed “Mercedes-Benz Mannheim – a plant of Daimler AG”