Mercedes-Benz celebrates 20 years of production in Alabama

(February 16, 2017) The year 1997 was historic and life-changing for many Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc. (MBUSI) team members and it launched the beginning of automotive production in Tuscaloosa , Ala. On Feb. 14, 1997, MBUSI's first customer-ready M-Class rolled offline.

Forty team members -— dressed in black, with sunglasses, white gloves, bow ties and black top hats — performed a dance routine for the crowd of 850 to the Temptations' "Get Ready." MBUSI team members had a ball and this set the stage for many more celebrations to come over the years.


Flash forward to 2016:  Last year, MBUSI built more than 300,000 vehicles (compared with more than 68,000 in 1998). MBUSI now has an annual economic impact of more than $1.5 billion, and the plant has consistently been the state's largest exporter. And with the worldwide success of the vehicles produced in Alabama, Daimler AG has invested more than $4.5 billion to date and a $1.3 billion expansion is now underway.

"Looking back on 20 years of production, the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa has been a success story from the beginning," said Markus Schaefer, member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management.

"Tuscaloosa was our first major production facility outside Germany and the nucleus of the automotive industry in Alabama. Meanwhile, the site has become an important part of our global production network contributing to the company's success as the traditional production location for our SUVs, which are produced here for the world market."

"As MBUSI celebrates 20 years of production in Alabama, we recognize that this milestone is not only ours, but the entire state's," said Jason Hoff, president and CEO of MBUSI. "Twenty years ago, the M-Class was only a vision. We had an idea, a blank sheet of paper and a belief in creating something exciting and successful. Today, the vision has become a reality and it was only possible through the hard work, dedication and unwavering enthusiasm of a team in both Alabama and Germany."

Since 1997, there have been three generations of the M-Class and with the 2016 model year, the vehicle was renamed "GLE" as part of a comprehensive renaming strategy by Mercedes-Benz Cars. MBUSI now builds four models – the GLE, GLE Coupe and GLS luxury sport utility vehicles for the world market and the C-Class for North America.