Smartville is a purpose-built factory complex in Hambach, France, established in 1994 as a joint venture of Daimler-Benz and the Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch to produce the Smart car. In 2020 the plant was 100% owned by Daimler AG (at that point comprising both the Mercedes-Benz and Daimler Truck companies)[1][2] and was taken over by Ineos[3] for production of the Ineos Grenadier 4x4.[4]
The "Smartville" production site in Hambach (France) with its 2,000 workers was among the most modern automobile production plants. It had been built for 450 million Euros and started production in 1998. In order to achieve optimized production processes the plant is arranged in the shape of a cross; in each of its four extensions different assembly works are provided. The centre, the so-called market place, serves as a test room for completed vehicles and for refinishing operations. The centre is multi-storied; thereby all the administrative, IT and changing rooms could be implemented in one central place.
Approximately 1,300 jobs would be safeguarded following the purchase by Ineos.[5][4]
Smart
The factory was officially opened in 1997 in the presence of Jacques Chirac and Helmut Kohl.[6]
The decision to locate the plant in French Hambach rather than the Black Forest site in Lahr (which had also been seriously evaluated) was made for several reasons. Lorraine and the region around Hambach were shaped by the heavy industry in former times. With the decay of this economic branch a considerable proportion of the population became unemployed. From the EU funds for economically underdeveloped regions as well as from the French government appropriations for an industry settling were available that would not have been provided in Lahr. The high unemployment provided the advantage of a high labor potential for a substantial new manufacturing plant. The Hambach site was closer to the Autoroute than the Lahr site would have been, though both sites are well served by Autobahn connections. Finally pivotal were the vast area reserve and the lower wage level in Lorraine. Calculations resulted in 75 Euros lower production costs for one Smart at the French production site than on the German site. Modern Toyota-inspired production philosophy also necessitated a large surrounding land area so that key suppliers could have their own assembly or warehousing facilities on the same site as the Smart plant.
Smart is the company with the lowest in-house production depth in the automobile sector. It accounts only for 10%, most other manufacturers often still have 20–40%. This means that 90% of the production steps to the complete car are performed by component suppliers.
Ineos
In July 2020, Daimler AG announced its interest in selling the factory.[7]
On 8 December 2020, Ineos[8] announced they had purchased the plant from Daimler in order to build their new off-road vehicle, the Ineos Grenadier.[9][10] This replaced plans to establish two completely new car plants in Bridgend and Estarreja with Ineos saying the business case for the already established Hambach plant was 'overwhelming'. Ineos will continue to produce some models from the Smart range on a contract basis.[11]
Further reading
- Tom Warhol, Green Cars, smart car. New York, NY, Cavendish Square Publishing, 2010.
- Jürgen Zöllter, Willi Diez, smart: small car, big deal. Stuttgart, Motorbuch Verlag, 2007.
External links
References
- Daimler completes Mercedes-Benz rename after truck split^
- Daimler To Split Into Two Companies, Luxury Carmaker Mercedes-Benz Group And Daimler Trucks Carscoops, 2021-10-01, retrieved 2022-08-12^
- Ineos Grenadier