• A look at the success story of the truck plant, future topics and transformation
• Milestones in the anniversary year: installation of extensive photovoltaic systems for green power supply, founding of the geothermal joint venture WärmeWerk Wörth, first vehicle handovers for electrification of inbound logistics to the plant, ongoing preparations for series production of the battery-electric eActros 600 for long-haul transport
• Malu Dreyer, Prime Minister of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate: “Daimler Truck and the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth – this is a success story.
• It is one of the largest truck plants in the world and the second largest employer in Rhineland-Palatinate and stands for innovation and further development.”
• Daniela Schmitt, Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate: “I also see the 60 years of successful company history as a clear commitment to the Rhineland-Palatinate site and would like to thank you for your trust.”
• Karin Rådström, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Trucks: “Changes and challenges have always been taken seriously and mastered in an excellent way at the Wörth plant. That’s why I’m proud of the plant’s history and look forward to its future with confidence.”

Wörth am Rhein – With a ceremony, representatives from national and local government, partners and friends as well as the management of Mercedes-Benz Trucks participated in one of the highlights of the 60th anniversary celebrations at the Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant on Monday. In addition to a look back at the success story of the plant, the focus was on future topics and transformation at the location.

Participants included Malu Dreyer, Prime Minister of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, Daniela Schmitt, Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, Alexander Schweitzer, Minister for Labor, Social Affairs, Transformation and Digitalization of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, Karin Rådström, CEO Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Jürgen Distl, Head of Operations and CFO Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Andreas Bachhofer,site manager at the Wörth plant and production manager at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, as well as Thomas Zwick, Chairman of the Works Council of the Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant.

In the anniversary year, the plant has driven forward change with decisive milestones that focus on green production and locally carbon-neutral vehicles: the installation of extensive photovoltaic systems for Green power supply, the first vehicle handovers for the electrification of inbound logistics to the plant, the founding of the geothermal joint venture WärmeWerk Wörth and preparations for the production of the eActros 600 long-haul truck, which is to roll off the production line in Wörth as a series-production vehicle from the end of 2024.

Greeting from the Prime Minister and the Minister for Economic Affairs

Malu Dreyer, Prime Minister of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate: “Daimler Truck and the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth – this is a success story. It is one of the largest truck plants in the world and the second largest employer in Rhineland-Palatinate and stands for innovation and further development. As Prime Minister, I am very proud that we have this global player in our federal state. The automotive industry is the second most important industry in the federal state in terms of turnover and employment, and the state government is very aware of its importance for the Rhineland-Palatinate economy. The aim of the development at the site is to expand the plant to become climate-neutral with battery-powered and fuel-cell-powered hydrogen trucks. The federal state is making every effort to support this project to enable the green and sustainable transformation.”

Daniela Schmitt, Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate: “As Minister for Economic Affairs of Rhineland-Palatinate, I am proud that one of the world’s largest and highly innovative truck plants is located in our state. Rhineland-Palatinate is a pioneer in the field of innovative commercial vehicles and this is largely thanks to the Development and Truck Testing Center (EVZ) in Wörth. The development of electric and hydrogen trucks is being driven forward significantly here. I would like to congratulate you on 60 years of the Wörth truck plant and thus on 60 years of tradition and innovation. I also see the 60 years of successful company history as a clear commitment to the Rhineland-Palatinate site and would like to thank you for your trust.”

Anniversary year 2023: tradition meets transformation at the Wörth site

On October 1, 1963, the first cab for a Mercedes-Benz truck rolled off the production line in the new build factory in Wörth am Rhein, followed by the first complete truck in 1965. A total of around 4.4 million vehicles have left the plant since then. Since 2021, battery-electric vehicles have also been part of the Wörth production program.

Karin Rådström, CEO Mercedes-Benz Trucks: “Changes and challenges have always been taken seriously and mastered in an excellent way at the Wörth plant. That’s why I’m proud of the plant’s history and look forward to its future with confidence.”

Rådström continues: “Series production of battery-electric trucks has been an integral part of production since 2021 and we are continuously expanding our portfolio of locally carbon-neutral trucks ‘made in Wörth’. We are also working at full speed on decarbonizing the entire site, including plant logistics.”

Andreas Bachhofer, site manager at the Wörth plant: “We can all be proud of our history at the Wörth plant. The plant has only been successful because, over the years, challenges were also seen as opportunities by all parties involved and small and large changes were and are always courageously driven forward. The transformation towards alternative drive systems is a particularly impressive example. Over the past two years, we have already integrated two battery-electric truck models into our production, the next one will follow in 2024 with the eActros 600. At the same time, we are intensively training our workforce for the new tasks. In addition, we are currently electrifying all inbound logistics to the plant, and we are working on numerous other future topics. It is and will remain a very exciting, dynamic time!”

Thomas Zwick, Chairman of the Works Council at the Mercedes-Benz Truck plant in Wörth: “Particularly in dynamic times like these, we need strong employee representatives who are committed to securing employment and complying with collective agreements. We focus on the future of the plant from the perspective of employees. And I am very pleased that the production of the new models is taking place here in Wörth. In this way, we have secured the future of the location over the long term and can help shape the transformation with confidence together with the employees. The new products offer many career opportunities and development possibilities, and this perspective strengthens the entire region.”

60 years of the Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant

The largest truck assembly plant of Mercedes-Benz Trucks was founded in Wörth am Rhein in 1963. Around 4.4 million trucks have been built here since the beginning. Today these are the Actros, Arocs and Atego model series. The Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks Econic, Unimog and Zetros are also built in Wörth. Series production of the battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 300/400 for distribution haulage started in 2021. In 2022, the second Mercedes-Benz eEconic electric series-production truck for municipal use followed. In October 2023, the eActros 600 for long-distance haulage was presented to the global public. It will go into series production in Wörth at the end of 2024. 

With around 10,000 employees, the Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant is the second largest employer in Rhineland-Palatinate. Research, development, and production work hand in hand at the site, which covers an area of almost three million square meters, and are closely interlinked, among other things, by the EVZ Development and Truck Testing Center located at the site.