Mercedes-Benz US International
Mercedes-Benz US International (MBUSI) is the Tuscaloosa based manufacturing center for Mercedes-Benz M-Class, R-Class and GL-Class sports utility and crossover vehicles are built. The factory and visitors center are located at 1 Mercedes Drive at the Vance exit off I-59 in Tuscaloosa County.
The factory site itself is located in "Foreign Trade Zone 98, Subzone 98A", allowing for deferred collection of certain import duties, but falls under regular federal, state and county jurisdiction for all matters not related to import and export duties. Tuscaloosa County services the site, and the access roads around it have been annexed into the city of Tuscaloosa.
The factory, the first Mercedes manufacturing site outside of Germany, was the object of a 30-state site-selection battle. Alabama's aggressive $253 million package of incentives, approved by then-Governor Jim Folsom, Jr, was roundly criticized as "selling out" to corporate interests. In addition to the financial and worker-training incentives, Folsom and the state's industrial recruiters effected the removal of a Confederate flag from the grounds of the state Capitol, added "Willkommen" to certain highway signs, and erected a large Mercedes-Benz "tristar" logo over the scoreboard at Legion Field. The 940-acre site near Vance was selected in the fall of 1993. Those recruiting efforts and incentives have since been seen as a success in opening the door to a thriving automotive manufacturing sector in the state.
Operating then as DaimlerChrysler AG, the plant was incorporated in 1995. The $300 million, 3.77 million square-foot facility was designed by ___. The first CEO was Andreas Renschler, who was promoted to Head of Global Executive Management Development in 1999 and succeeded by Bill Taylor. Ola Källenius succeeded Taylor after his resignation in June 2009, and was succeeded himself by Markus Schaefer in 2010.
The Alabama-built M-Class made its public debut in the 1997 feature film "Jurassic Park", where it was outfitted as the primary fleet vehicle for the fictional dinosaur park. The second-generation M-Class began production in 2004, followed the next year by the first Alabama-built R-Class vehicles. The GL-Class joined the plant's line-up in 2006. Diesel versions of all three models began production at MBUSI in 2008, and American production of the C-Class sedan is set to start in 2014.
External links
- Mercedes-Benz US International website
- Tuscaloosa Plant, Mercedes-Benz US International at daimler.com