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Corporate news

Here's excerpts from a BMW piece in The Economist, 19 Nov 94, p. 73
(at least in Canada):

"In 1991 Helmut Panke, pres. of BMW's American operation, lead a tem
of fellow Germans on a topsecret mission across the southern states of
America. Travelling under assumed names in a rented mini-van [which
make???] & keeping their mouhts shut to hide their accents, they
scouted locations for BMW's first foreign assembly plant. This week Mr
Panke fought back tears as he opend the $400M factory in S.C.

"For the moment, 570 workers turn out a mere 30 cars/day. But BMW will
spend another $200M & rhie 1500 more to increase daily output to 3K
vehicles by '97. Plants in lat. Am & SE Asia (the 2 fastest growing
car markets) are probly next. `No doubt BMW will open other facilities
like this around the world' says Bernd P, BMW chairman.

"Half of the 90K verhicles Spartenburg produces every year will be
exported to more than 100 countries. Each [nonunionised] worker
at the new plant costs BMW $40K a year --
1/3 less than unionised workers at GM & Ford
cost, & barely half what BMW employees earn in Germany. BMW forecasts
that production costs in America will be 30% below Germany's. It hopes
the lesson will not be lost on the workforce back home: the company
aims to improve productivity there by 4% a year, by switching to the
flexible working system that it is using in Carolina. Anticipating
more German arrivals, locals call the road by the plant `the autobahn'."
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Barry Wellman           wellman@domain.elided            8-)