“Four years ago, there were only two of us,” said Julia Wimmer of her team that maintains machines producing electric motors and battery packs in the Dingolfing factory. “Now we’re between 25 to 30.”
Battery-pack production uses robots to perform diagnostics and remove traces of dirt before placing each cell into the metal casing, a process that’s obviously simpler and less labor-intensive. The cells arrive at Dingolfing in cardboard boxes from Samsung factories in South Korea.
In this small town northeast of Munich, generations of BMW workers have flocked into the giant halls each day since the factory opened in 1967. A straightforward economic arrangement has endured: Workers come through the gates to build cars, the company provides the comfort of security and bonus payments, and everyone maintains a lustrous reputation for excellence.
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