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High transport volumes and chronic<br />
lack of space at the bus plant in<br />
Mannheim are no problem for the<br />
Unimog. It is thoroughly at home here<br />
as a tractor due to its manoeuvrability<br />
and power<br />
In view of this extensive program and a<br />
production volume of 1,000 cars a day,<br />
much of the daily transport work that has to<br />
be carried out involves movements from<br />
outside storage facilities to the assembly<br />
supply of engines, removal of empty material,<br />
delivering material to and removing it<br />
from the press shop and the assembly lines<br />
and moving tools and fixtures to where they<br />
are required. Holger Ahrendt, Transport<br />
Manager at the Bremen plant, emphasises<br />
the importance of the 14 Unimogs that are<br />
utilized as tractors: We have excellent results<br />
from all our Unimogs so far. They re<br />
ideal for these short-distance movements<br />
too, and help us to cope when the supply<br />
situation changes. Everything has to<br />
reach the assembly point just in time , so<br />
absolute flexibility is what counts.<br />
Short journeys or not, the Unimogs at<br />
the Bremen plant average 2,600 kilometres<br />
a week. Thanks to the Transport Operating<br />
and Control System (TESS), they perform<br />
45,000 individual transport tasks every<br />
month, a third of these involving towing<br />
work. Holger Ahrendt sums up the importance<br />
of the Unimog for transport tasks at<br />
the Bremen plant in the following unequivocal<br />
terms: The plant logistics continue to<br />
change, and so we have tried to achieve a<br />
practicable mix between the various transport<br />
systems. We shall certainly need the<br />
Unimogs in the future as well, because for<br />
certain types of load handling there s<br />
simply no alternative to these vehicles!<br />
The bodies in white from<br />
the cathodic dip painting<br />
process wait in front of<br />
the omnibus paintshop in<br />
Mannheim for further<br />
processing<br />
Manoeuvrability and<br />
the ability to shunt are<br />
essentials when “parking”<br />
the body in white of a<br />
15 m long, six-wheel<br />
<strong>Mercedes</strong>-<strong>Benz</strong> Citaro<br />
urban bus. The load can be<br />
rolled off without any<br />
problems by the driver<br />
using the hydraulic lift on<br />
the fifth wheel<br />
The “Bremen Unicat”: a<br />
U 2450 mit Zikun heavy<br />
duty semi-trailer is used<br />
to transport press tools<br />
weighing up to 26 tonnes<br />
Mannheim<br />
Sales organisation<br />
At the Mannheim plant, where DaimlerChrysler<br />
buses are traditionally manufactured,<br />
the experts from the General<br />
Engineering department who are responsible<br />
for plant logistics are convinced of<br />
the Unimog‘s advantages. Let‘s hear what<br />
Michael Krügel, Transport Team Manager,<br />
has to say about the U 1400, U 1100 and<br />
U90 models which he operates: They’ re<br />
manoeuvrable and strong. We also need<br />
their four-wheel drive, their power hydraulics<br />
and their high braking power,<br />
UNIMOG<br />
JOURNAL<br />
15
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