Mercedes-Benz Opens ‘Factory of the Future’ : Autos: The facility is aimed at producing vehicles that compete in price with countries whose wages are lower.

Luxury-car maker Mercedes-Benz opened an ultramodern auto factory in southwestern Germany on Monday, even though some of the country’s auto makers are searching for cheaper production sites abroad.

Mercedes-Benz described the $1.3-billion project in Rastatt in Baden-Wuerttemberg state as “the factory of the future,” complete with high-tech computerized assembly systems and liberal work rules.

Mercedes-Benz Chairman Werner Niefer, in a speech opening the plant, said competition has forced the company “to launch new products faster and above all at lower costs.”

He pledged that the plant will prove that it is possible for auto production in Germany to remain economically feasible. But other German auto makers aren’t so sure. Many are seeking to build their products abroad, since domestic labor and other production costs have become prohibitive.

BMW of Munich, for example, is considering whether to build a plant in South Carolina or Nebraska to produce its luxury cars. So far a decision has not been made.

And Daimler-Benz, the parent of Mercedes, has said it plans to expand its Freightliner heavy-truck operation in Portland, Ore. Freightliner posted U.S. sales of about $7.5 billion last year.

German metalworkers ended several weeks of warning strikes after employers recently agreed to 5.8% wage increases. A six-week metalworkers strike in 1984 practically shut down auto production.

Niefer said work innovations at the Rastatt plant, about 12 miles south of Karlsruhe, are the answer to reducing production costs “while continuing to produce new, quality products.”

While the plant contains the most up-to-date equipment available, Niefer said management worked closely with workers on how the machinery will be operated.

Teams making the new Mercedes are self-organized, with every team assuming “full responsibility” for the cars it produces, Niefer said.

The concept of teams producing cars varies the work and gives employees more responsibility and pride in quality production, Niefer said, cutting assembly line problems.

Initially, 600 workers will assemble cars at the plant, which is expected to employ 5,000 by the mid-1990s. Daily production should total 360 cars at that time, Niefer said.

The plant will be operating with two nine-hour shifts, five days a week, to get optimum use of the expensive production equipment. Many workers, however, will be able to work a four-day week.

Niefer admitted that environmental requirements, higher wages and corporate taxes are a disadvantage when it comes to producing cars economically, but he noted that political stability, skilled workers and Germany’s infrastructure remain important advantages.

“Our automobiles enjoy an excellent reputation worldwide by virtue of being ‘made in Germany,’ ” he said.

Mercedes-Benz deliberately has not tried to imitate popular car designs developed in Japan and Scandinavia, Niefer said. “The conditions under which we carry out production in Germany are far too different,” he said.

The Rastatt plant is in addition to Mercedes-Benz plants in Sindelfingen and in the port city of Bremen.