Inauguration of the new base coat line at Audi in Neckarsulm

15,000 cubic meters of excavated earth, 2,600 installed bored piles, 1,100 tons of installed steel and 13,700 cubic meters of concrete: after two years of construction, the new A22 building with a floor area of 12,000 square meters is complete. Audi is repositioning the Neckarsulm site in the area of surface technology and is investing heavily in modernizing and partially renewing the paint shop. On October 16, 2024, the inauguration was celebrated with more than 200 invited guests from politics, the press, Audi and its suppliers. Fred Schulze, Plant Manager at the Neckarsulm site: "With the investment in the new facility, Audi is setting the course for continuing its move towards e-mobility and gearing the Neckarsulm site towards a sustainable future. The construction project is an important milestone in the plant's development and part of a future-proof infrastructure for production."

Rainer Schirmer, Chairman of the Works Council, also praises the project: "With the refurbished paint shop, we have one of the most advanced facilities in the automotive industry with modern working conditions. This investment underlines our commitment to sustainability and ensures the future viability of our site."

For combustion engines and electric vehicles

In the new plant, both combustion engines and electric models are primed in a fully automated system, including all models produced at the Neckarsulm site and the neighboring Böllinger Höfe. These include the new Audi AS, the upcoming Audi A7, the Audi Sport models and current and upcoming all-electric models. For the first time, pre-treatment is carried out using a new thin-film process that makes the previous phosphating process superfluous. The CDP coating is carried out using Dürr's flexible RoDip rotational dip coating system.

Premiere: thin-film pre-treatment and cross dryer

Audi opted for Dürr's new EcoInCure concept for the drying process. The car bodies pass through the dryer rotated by 90°; among other things, the concept leads to faster heating of complex sill structures.

Read more about the new basecoat line and Audi's sustainability strategy at the Neckarsulm site in the November issue of mo or shortly online at oberflaeche.de.