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47 AutoData | April 2018 There are several technological re- sources, such as a mobile application that allows to follow 100% of the produc- tion process. The app is still connected to other factories, such as Juiz de Fora. MG, and also abroad, as well as several related areas in São Bernardo do Campo. With highlight to sixtyAGVs, a hundred electronic screwdrivers, forty TV moni- tors that dispense paper in orientation to assemblers at each workstation and 3D printers. It is also planned to adopt aug- mented reality glasses. In the parts logistics there are new forklifts with cameras and the stock shel- ves have light sensors that monitor the entry and exit of materials. Despite thewide adoption of newelec- tronic equipment Mercedes-Benz was able to reduce energy consumption by 56%: the secret was to use LED bulbs in 100% of the line. The manufacturer’s investments in te- chnologies for Industry 4.0 will continue, now consuming a portion of the R$ 2.4 billion investment programmed up to 2022. The idea is to expand the concept to all production processes, includingwhat the company calls aggregates - engines, ex- changes and axles - and manufacture of bus chassis in São Bernardo do Campo, besides the unit of Juiz de Fora. ONE SHIFT Although it foresees a bigger volume of sales for the year Schiemer considers that “in one shift we were able to attend to the volume of orders that we have nowadays, because with the refurbished factory we improved the levels of production. Capa- city is not a problem. To open a second shift, you have to wait and see how the market will behave”. But he does not totally rule out this possibility: “If you confirm a growth rate that guarantees the projected 30% a new turn can happen from July”. Currently, both the ABC and Minas Ge- rais plants, where Actros is produced and the cab welding and painting operations, operate in a single shift. Together they can produce 40 thousand vehicles/year, in a mix made up of 70% of trucks and 30% of bus chassis. The hirings began this April and with them the factory of São Bernardo do Cam- po becomes the figure of eight thousand employees, which add up to seven hun- dred in Minas Gerais. In addition to the new openings, 350 employeeswhowere in lay- -offs in the two factories returned to work. With the new line M-BB hopes to see facilitated rite of passage for the technolo- gy of engines Euro 6 and still stimulate the increase of exports. “Investing in modernity raises the standard of vehicle quality”. 40% of production is expected to follow the foreign market in 2018, similar to that registered in 2017. In 2014 the share of ex- ports inM-B productionwas 10%. Argentina is the main destination for the vehicles produced here, while Germany and the United States buy Made in Brazil engines. There is an ongoing work to search for new markets, which involves regions in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East itself: “We need to get back opportunities abroad, but we must first reduce the sha- re of companies that have been in these markets for some time , as is the case of Chinese companies in the Middle East, for example”. “The new ABC line is a gigantic and historic step towards the adoption of the Industry 4.0 concept in Brazil” Philipp Schiemer, president and CEO AL