Greer BMW cruises to milestone

GREER -- Ryan Childers can still vividly recall the startup of BMW's South Carolina plant, when the luxury automaker was ramping up production at its first and only U.S. factory.

The goal of assembling one car a day became five, then 10, and eventually reaching 100. But the idea of turning out 600 vehicles on a daily basis was unthinkable, Childers thought. He thought the number "was so high we'd never make that."

Childers, who drove the first U.S.-made BMW off the assembly line near Spartanburg exactly 15 years ago Tuesday and is now a manager with the company, was wrong.

Some 5,000 workers now turn out an average of 500 to 600 vehicles a day, one of many milestones celebrated Tuesday at a ceremony inside the sprawling plant.

The company used the occasion to trot out the 1.5 millionth automobile made in Greer since 1994 -- a 2009 Monaco Blue BMW X6 xDrive 35i with oyster interior. The right-hand drive sport activity coupe is bound for a customer in Hong Kong, the automaker said.

"We are very proud of the positive impact this BMW plant has delivered for this area and the quality of the vehicles that our associates produce for world markets each day," said Josef Kerscher, president of BMW Manufacturing Co. LLC.

BMW is arguably one of South Carolina's biggest-ever economic- development coups.

Announced in June 1992 under then-Gov. Carroll Campbell, the plant started out with 500 employees. It now has more than 5,000 workers on its payroll, though it cut back on its contract labor force this year in response to the slowing demand for cars.

The Munich-based company's initial $400 million investment in the plant has swelled to $4.2 billion, including a $750 million expansion that's set to be completed next year.

Kerscher noted that the economy in 1992, as now, was limping along and that the industry consensus was that there was "no future" in the United States for European-owned auto factories. BMW took a contrarian position, he said.

"We were willing to take the risk, and we were optimistic about the future," Kerscher said, adding that the company remains upbeat about the car market despite the global recession.

Since Childers took the first U.S.-made BMW 318I for a spin, the company has made five vehicles and their variants in the Upstate: the 318I, Z3, Z4, X5 and X6. The company has expanded the plant five times, bringing the total size of the massive white complex off Interstate 85 to 4 million square feet.

The latest 1.5 million-square-foot addition will house an assembly line for the newest version of the X3 hybrid sport utility vehicle, which is now being manufactured in Austria.

U.S. production is expected to start next September.

A study by the University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business estimated that BMW supports 23,050 jobs, directly and indirectly, and generates $1.2 billion in wages and salaries annually within the state. The company is a large user of the Port of Charleston.

"This investment changed the face of South Carolina," Kerscher said.

Reach John McDermott at 937-5572 or jmcdermott@postandcourier.com.