Index – Economy – Production will resume at Mercedes in Kecskemét from Tuesday

After a break of several weeks, Mercedes-Benz will gradually resume production at its Kecskemét plant starting Tuesday; To protect employees, the restart was prepared with more than 120 hygiene and preventive measures, the company told MTI on Tuesday.

All factory employees were informed of the new rules introduced and hygiene information before the first business day, and they also sent washable masks to all company employees. Access to the factory has changed, the number of buses to the factory has increased, and the bicycle route from the city center to the factory has also been recently completed.

In production, at workstations where a distance of 1.5 meters cannot be maintained, workers must wear a mask or goggles or a Plexiglas mask. The cleaning service disinfects and regularly cleans the factory area. Additionally, employees must individually clean their own work area, work equipment, control panels, and partitions before beginning each job.

In the case of a later two-shift operation, the morning and night shifts are separated so that personnel belonging to each shift group do not come into contact with the other shift group to any extent. For staff safety, rest areas were redesigned, the number of people present at the same time was determined, and seats on the floor, which should not be moved, were designated.

In the factory canteens, menu selection was narrowed, and colleagues were asked to use their own silverware or take it away from staff along with the trays. In the dining rooms, marks were painted on the floor to maintain the correct distance, and plexiglass partitions were installed in the boxes. In the administration area, home office work is still recommended and meetings should be conducted digitally whenever possible.

On March 17, the owner of the Mercedes-Benz brand, Daimler AG, decided to suspend production at most of its European sites due to the coronavirus epidemic. The move also affected Mercedes-Benz’s Kecskemét plant, where work was also suspended in most areas from March 20. The Mercedes-Benz plant in Kecskemét employs more than 4,400 people. In 2019, around 190,000 Mercedes-Benz compact cars were produced. The factory produces the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and the four-door CLA Coupé and the CLA Shooting Brake, the latter two exclusively on the Hungarian site. Net sales of Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Hungary Kft. In 2019 were € 3.7 billion, 2.7 percentage points more than in 2018.

Audi in Győr was also restarted on Monday, according to the company’s announcement, which states that production also started at the press plant, body shop, paint shop and vehicle assembly. In the first step, 2,000 vehicle factory workers began their work in one shift. The vehicle assembly currently produces 250 cars per shift, and the company wants to gradually increase production in the coming weeks.

The company has also recently redesigned jobs in engine and vehicle manufacturing as well as office areas to comply with health regulations. In order to protect the health of employees, technical and organizational measures have been implemented, providing a mask for employees in specific areas. Audi Hungary currently employs 5,000 people in the factory or in a home office. Employees who are not currently working are licensed as ordered by the company.

You can read more about the Hungarian automotive reset in this article.

(Cover image: Production line at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Kecskemét. MTI Photo: Sándor Ujvári)