BMW appoints new boss at strike-hit engine plant
BMW Group has appointed a new plant director at its engine factory in Warwickshire.
Bernd Gress is set for a baptism of fire as he joins the Hams Hall plant in the midst of a series of one-day stoppages in a row over pensions.
Mr Gress arrives at the plant following an assignment at BMW Group’s new engine manufacturing facility in China.
It will be his second spell at the Hams Hall plant, having previously served there as head of quality between 2005-2008.
Married with two children, Mr Gress, 46, was educated at the Technical University in Munich and has a 22-year career in the automotive industry, working for BMW Group since 1996.
The majority of his experience is within the powertrain division in a number of senior positions, which apart from his previous spell at Hams Hall, includes a period as head of the Munich engine assembly plant and more recently as head of projects and planning for the new BMW Group engine facility in Shenyang.
He succeeds Markus Fallböhmer, who moves to another role within BMW Group, based at the vehicle manufacturing site in Dingolfing, Germany, where he will be responsible for quality and projects.
“I am very much looking forward to returning to the UK and to the Hams Hall engine plant,” said Mr Gress.
“It’s an exciting time as the assembly of the latest generation of engines is in full swing, and since I was last working at the plant, the capability to produce key machined engine components has trebled.”
The plant, which directly supports the jobs of around 1,000 people, is optimised for the production of three and four-cylinder petrol engines, supplied for MINI, as well as two of the latest plug-in hybrid vehicles – the BMW i8 sports car and the BMW 225xe.
Key engine components are also produced on at the plant, both for locally assembled engines and for supply to BMW Group’s other engine plants. Production reached almost 1.4 million parts last year.
Members of the Unite union are due to stage another 24-hour stoppage on Tuesday (May 16), followed by further strikes on May 18 and 24.
The strike action is in protest against the German company’s decision of close its final salary pension scheme at the end of this month. The stoppages have also hit the company’s body plant in Swindon, the MINI factory in Cowley and Rolls-Royce at Goodwood.
The stoppages, which follow a ballot amongst Unite members, are the first at BMW’s UK plants.
