By Dawn Kent | dkent@al.com
Workers at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa County have produced a record number of vehicles in 2012. (Joe Songer/jsonger@al.com)
VANCE, Alabama -- Mercedes-Benz auto workers in Tuscaloosa County have built more vehicles in 2012 than any other year in the plant's history.
The final tally is expected to be about 182,000 vehicles, Markus Schaefer, head of the German automaker's state operations, said in an interview.
Mercedes parent Daimler will pinpoint the exact total in early 2013. The plant's previous production record was 174,356 vehicles, set in 2007.
The output is just one of the records set by the plant this year, Schaefer added. The value of exports shipped from the plant also is expected to climb to a new level -- between $5 billion and $6 billion -- keeping Mercedes at the top among state exporters.
"2012 was a great year," Schaefer said. "It was the best year we ever had in terms of output, in terms of export volume and in terms of recognition for the quality of our products.
Across Alabama's auto industry, output will reach a record level this year. In fact, the state's three automakers, including Mercedes, Honda and Hyundai, had already surpassed the previous record by the end of November.
The 3,000-worker Mercedes plant, which produces luxury SUVs and crossovers that range in price from $50,000 to more than $100,000, launched a redesign of one of those models this year, the GL-Class full-sized SUV.
The new 2013 GL-Class has won several accolades, including Motor Trend's SUV of the Year award, as well as Autoweek's Best of the Best and a Golden Steering Wheel from the German auto magazine, Auto Bild.
The records are notable, too, because they came in a year of activity that normally slows output.
A vehicle redesign is a process that typically causes assembly lines to lose a bit of efficiency because of the model changeover.
At the same time, the plant is preparing for the addition of the C-Class sedan in 2014, and one of its two assembly lines was shut down earlier this year for equipment installation.
To make up for that loss, the other assembly line is running three shifts instead of the typical two. It's a first for the facility, which is operating around the clock six days a week.
On Friday, the plant will shut down for its annual holiday break, which will be a few days longer than normal this year. The extra time will be used to ramp up ongoing construction that is making way for the C-Class and adding capacity to grow to more than 250,000 vehicles per year.
Last year, Mercedes announced plans to invest an additional $2.4 billion in Tuscaloosa County for new model launches and additional capacity.
With this year's launch of the redesigned GL-Class and last year's launch of the redesigned M-Class, about $1.2 billion has been spent, Schaefer said.
The balance is going toward the C-Class addition, as well as the addition of an unnamed fifth model.