With the commissioning of the new fully automated paint shop, John Deere is continuing to modernize its tractor production at the Mannheim site. John Deere has invested over 80 million euros in the further development of final assembly in Mannheim, its largest location outside North America. With this investment, the agricultural machinery manufacturer is strengthening the German site and securing over 3,000 jobs. The investment is also a step towards a climate-neutral factory. "With the paint shop, we are strengthening and securing our production at the site, while at the same time making a massive contribution to environmental protection," says Linus Baumhauer, Head of the Mannheim tractor factory, explaining the benefits of the investment. "The system also gives us more flexibility to produce ever larger tractors and a variety of different models."
Increase in energy efficiency
Emissions from the new paint shop have been reduced to a minimum. Waste water and waste can also be avoided as far as possible. Local residents benefit from the significant reduction in noise compared to the two old plants.
Plant with seven cleaning and preparation stages
The automation of the painting process ensures consistently high quality and external disruptive factors can be largely eliminated. In the new line, the chassis first pass through seven cleaning and preparation stages, in which four robots are used. Ten coordinated robots then work on priming and the final green coating. A control center is responsible for monitoring and controlling the system. The capacity of the paint shop allows the simultaneous processing of around 100 chassis, which are processed every 2.7 minutes.
Efficiency level KfW-40
The new facility is the first building at John Deere to meet the KfW-40 efficiency standard. Thanks to the high level of thermal insulation and the use of technologies such as heat pumps and frequency converters, energy efficiency has been significantly improved. Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced thanks to exhaust gas post-combustion. In addition, 3,600 square meters of solar panels on the roof of the new building can generate up to 800,000 kWh of electricity per year for internal use.
Two years construction time
Construction work on the new building started on November 12, 2021 and was completed on time. The paint shop replaces two older facilities from 1965 and 1990. In addition to the construction of the new paint shop, the existing tractor final assembly line was also modernized. At the ground-breaking ceremony, Christian Specht, First Mayor of the City of Mannheim, gave a welcoming address: "The new plant is a major step towards even more environmentally friendly production - these activities are an excellent fit with our municipal efforts to bring the European Green Deal to life with a Local Green Deal and a climate protection action plan here in Mannheim.