The individual overseeing BMW Innovation Park hails from the northernmost regions and exhibits a strong affinity for...
In the heart of the Upper Palatinate, a region noted for its genuine progress, lies the small town of Wackersdorf. This up-and-coming location is home to BMW's Innovation Park, a global centre of competence that plays a crucial role in shaping the future of mobility.
Wackersdorf serves as the logistical hub for BMW's overseas plants, coordinating parts supply for ten locations across five continents. With approximately 60 containers of vehicle parts shipped daily to assembly plants overseas, the town enjoys a unique advantage in flexibility and willingness to change.
At the core of the Innovation Park's strengths lies its focus on innovation in technology and concepts for future mobility. With a strong emphasis on sustainability, safety, and driving dynamics, the Park operates as a global think tank, ensuring BMW remains a technology leader.
The Innovation Park contributes to the BMW Group by providing a constant stream of innovations, safeguarding and expanding the company’s pre-eminence in the premium automobile sector. Over the past 25 years, research activities at BMW Technik GmbH, which includes the Innovation Park, have forged the foundation of BMW's development concept, enabling the firm to lead in areas such as efficient dynamics, safety systems, and sustainable mobility technologies.
In Wackersdorf, BMW and Recticel share a hall for cockpit production, with Recticel supplying the foam shells and BMW processing them. The partner companies in the Innovation Park are essential for the location, forming a successful tandem with the respective BMW specialist departments. Around 1,500 people are employed at the partner companies, accounting for about half of the I-Park workforce.
The Innovation Park also processes carbon stacks into body parts for BMW i models in Landshut and Leipzig. SGL ACF supplies preforms for carbon processing, which are further processed into stacks by BMW.
Wackersdorf's cooperation with the town hall and Mayor Thomas Falter is exemplary, as demonstrated by their flexible responses to the location's needs. Mr. Dose, who has been in Wackersdorf for a year and a half, was warmly welcomed and appreciates the openness, good character, pragmatism, solution-orientation, hard work, and innovation of the people in the Upper Palatinate.
The automotive industry's changes, such as new materials, more efficient production processes, and new sales markets, are likely to continue affecting Wackersdorf in the future. However, with its innovative spirit and strategic location, the town is well-positioned to meet these challenges and continue its role as a global centre of competence for the BMW Group.
[1] BMW Group's official account of their research subsidiary, BMW Technik GmbH, which includes the Innovation Park’s historical role and strategic importance.
The Innovation Park in Wackersdorf, a global center of competence for BMW, extends its influence beyond the automotive industry. Its partnerships with companies like Recticel and SGL ACF in foam cockpit production and carbon processing respectively, demonstrate its foray into the other manufacturing industry.
Furthermore, the financial implications of these strategic partnerships are significant, as they contribute to the BMW Group's pre-eminence in the premium automobile sector, securing capital for research and development activities in areas such as sustainable mobility technologies. [1]
