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As the first production try-out Grenadiers roll off the production line at INEOS Automotive’s Hambach plant, the company is signalling its transition from “project” to automotive manufacturer.
INEOS Automotive hasn’t been shy about revealing each stage of the Grenadier’s development. With regular updates, the company has gone out of its way to let us participate in their journey as they take the most exciting new product in the 4×4 market from a blank sheet of paper to prototypes that are currently ending 1.8 million kilometres of gruelling tests.
In their bid to further instil confidence in the minds of potential customers, INEOS embarked upon a series of roadshows where enthusiasts had the opportunity see the vehicles, ask questions, and take a passenger seat during demonstration drives. The strategy has paid off: “Some 15,000 customers worldwide have reserved their Grenadier,” said Dirk Heilmann, CEO of INEOS Automotive.
Designing a vehicle and building a limited number of prototypes and demonstrators is one thing. Having consistently high-quality and reliable vehicles roll off the end of a production line every hour of every day of every month, is something completely different.
In 2019, Mercedes-Benz invested €470 million in their Hambach factory with a view to producing SUV-style vehicles. But plans changed and on July 3rd, 2020, the company announced the site was for sale. As far as INEOS was concerned, this couldn’t have come at a better time: COVID had disrupted the construction of their new factories in Portugal and Wales; launch dates were at risk of being pushed back.
Since acquiring the factory in January 2021, INEOS has invested an additional €50m in the production line. Today, the factory is equipped with a new quality assessment centre, a new fully-automated bodyshop, a new semi-automated paint shop, and an upgraded general assembly facility.
Having taken just 12 months to reconfigure the new line for the Grenadier, INEOS is nearing the end of a first production try-out (PTO1) phase. Building 130 PTO1 Grenadiers is crucial for defining the assembly process and also provides the engineering team with production-representative vehicles for final rounds of testing and certification.
The PTO2 phase starts in March to validate the assembly process and build quality, before production of launch series vehicles proves out the supply chain, logistics, and build rate.
Dirk Heilmann: “We want to deliver a vehicle that’s ready, and we won’t cut corners. With the benefit of the highly skilled and experienced team at Hambach, as well as the expertise in safety and quality that we have employed, we are on target to begin series production in July.”
On paper, this all sounds encouraging, so I didn’t need to be asked twice if I would like to visit the factory. And this really was more than just a walk through the hallowed halls—this was a unique opportunity to look closely at the different manufacturing processes and testing procedures behind a quality automobile.
The plant was first put into service in 1997 and was the first car manufacturing facility in Europe to be carbon neutral. Until now, four different generations of the Smart car have been launched here and, under its new ownership, 27,000 Smart FourTwo vehicles have been produced for Mercedes-Benz.
Beginning with the highly advanced quality assessing technology that monitors individual components, assemblies, and complete vehicles at various stages of the manufacturing process, through to the fully-automated bodyshop which is home to more than 250 robots, the paint shop where tasks are shared between automation, for e-coating and painting, and manual procedures such as the application of some of the sealants, and, finally, the general assembly line, this is a state-of-the-art facility.
But at the end of the day, it is the people that make the difference. The more than one thousand staff have an average age of 45 and have been employed by the company for an average of twenty years. Employee fluctuation has been minimal which means each member of the workforce is highly skilled and has not only grown with the company, they have been instrumental in the company’s growth. In preparation for the launch of mainstream production and by the end of the PTO phase, the staff will have undergone 80,000 hours of training.
Right from the outset, when the idea of the Grenadier was born five years ago, INEOS Automotive has drawn together a network of industry experts to develop this best-in-class vehicle. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the manufacturing facility in Hambach can uphold those high standards and is, in its own right, representative of industry expertise.
Finally, an update on sales and marketing activities from Mark Tennant, Commercial Director: “I can report really good progress on our distribution model to the extent that we have now nominated approximately one hundred partners around the world to take on responsibility for the Grenadier wherever our customers are.
Our model for distribution is mixed. We have a combination of direct sales and agencies in Europe, traditional distributors in markets further afield, and a dealer network for North America.
In addition to our sales and service agents, we have aligned ourselves with the Bosch Car Service network, with more than 17,000 outlets worldwide, which gives the customer the confidence to take and use his vehicle wherever he wants in the knowledge that spare parts, maintenance and repair workshops are close at hand.”
Full pricing and specifications will be announced in April 2022, when customers in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East can finalise their orders either directly with INEOS online, or via their local retailer. North America will follow later this year.
Related post: Learn about the Grenadier and its DNA.
BIOGRAPHIES
DIRK HEILMANN, CEO
Dirk Heilmann is the CEO of INEOS Automotive and responsible for creating and leading the business and organisation that is bringing the all-new Grenadier to the world. A highly respected engineer, Dirk has worked at INEOS for 20 years, and was formerly its Head of Engineering and Technology. In that time he managed several large-scale international technology programmes and oversaw large teams delivering complex, ground-breaking activities.
Excited to be at the helm of this new venture, Dirk brings to the table his expertise in engineering projects, along with a passion for manufacturing an all-new highly capable and modern utilitarian 4×4 that honours the spirit of simplicity and adventure.
Dirk has a long-standing affinity with cars and vehicles of all types, though true off-roaders are his passion. He has traversed Fuerteventura in an old Jeep Wrangler, hopes to cross Canada from coast to coast, and looks forward to travelling to some of the most remote places on Earth with the Grenadier.
The challenge of creating a highly capable modern 4×4, available to own across the world, is a mission that the car enthusiast in him found irresistible.
MARK TENNANT, COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR
Mark Tennant is the Commercial Director for INEOS Automotive with responsibility for developing and implementing the brand, marketing, sales and distribution strategy for the business.
Mark joined INEOS Automotive in January 2018 and brought over 25 years of automotive industry experience to the company, having held a series of international commercial roles within OEMs and international distributor groups.
In his previous position as CEO of Guava International, Mark was responsible for managing the Jaguar Land Rover business in over 60 developing markets across Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Asia Pacific. From 2009 to 2013 he was based in Asia as Vice-President of RMA Group, Guava’s parent company, responsible for a broad portfolio of automotive businesses in Asia and beyond and working with OEMs including JLR, Ford, Daimler and TATA.
Mark joined RMA following 10 years with Bentley Motors in a number of senior sales & marketing roles, covering global marketing, PR, product strategy and regional management.
Prior to Bentley, he worked for Rover International’s export distributor, selling Land Rovers – largely Defenders at the time – into African markets. With that symmetry, the opportunity to join INEOS Automotive to develop the Grenadier from scratch was an unmissable one for Mark.
ERIK TORSEKE, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Erik is the Director of Operations for INEOS Automotive. He’s responsible for the manufacturing and facility operations at the Hambach plant, as well as the preparations of the plant for production of the Grenadier.
Erik joined INEOS Automotive in April 2018 and brought more than 12 years of automotive manufacturing engineering and operations experience to the company.
He has held several senior management positions, including Senior Vice President at Valmet Automotive, a Finnish vehicle contract manufacturer, and Senior Director at NEVS, a Swedish electric car manufacturer.
Prior to this, Erik worked with large international companies such as ABB, ITT Corporation and Metso Automation where his responsibilities included the supply of process equipment to the chemical and petrochemical industry.
STEFAN BRUHNKE, DIRECTOR OF QUALITY & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Stefan Bruhnke is responsible for managing the quality across INEOS Automotive, from engineering functions and supply chain, through manufacturing and to aftersales.
Stefan joined INEOS Automotive in September 2020, bringing with him more than 15 years of automotive experience in quality engineering and business development to the company, having held a series of quality and development roles for Mercedes-Benz.
Previous positions include Head of Assembly, Head of Quality and Head of Research and Development. In these roles, Stefan led teams of approximately 500 to 700 staff, and he managed the implementation of a new structure of assembly for the Mercedes E- and CLS-Class models and launched the C-Class as well as SUV and Roadster lines.
Stefan was also responsible for leading the project for the introduction of the EQC – Mercedes-Benz’s first electric vehicle. He also oversaw the roll-out of a worldwide strategy for implementation of electric vehicles, powertrains and batteries in the Mercedes-Benz production network and defined processes to ensure quality maturity for the start of production.
ABOUT INEOS GRENADIER
In 2017, INEOS Chairman Jim Ratcliffe, a car enthusiast and experienced adventurer, identified a gap in the market for a stripped back, utilitarian, hard-working 4×4 engineered for modern day compliance and reliability. INEOS Automotive Limited was formed and a senior team of automotive professionals assembled to bring the vision to reality with a fresh perspective of 4×4 development and manufacturing.
Combining rugged British spirit and design with German engineering rigour, the Grenadier will be a truly uncompromising 4×4 built from the ground up. Engineered to overcome all conditions, it will provide best-in-class off-road capability, durability, and reliability to those who depend on a vehicle as a working tool, wherever they are in the world.
INEOS Automotive is a subsidiary of INEOS Group, a leading manufacturer of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil products. It employs 26,000 people across 36 businesses, with a production network spanning 194 manufacturing facilities in 29 countries. From paints to plastics, textiles to technology, medicines to mobile phones, materials manufactured by INEOS enhance almost every aspect of modern life. In 2019, INEOS had sales of circa $61bn and EBITDA of around $6bn.
