The staff of BMW Manufacturing Corp., Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA, are in the final throws of preparing the production of the new X5 "Sports Utility Vehicle". Commissioning of the production plants for the start of production in September 1999 is already completed. The new X5 sports and offroad vehicle will only be produced in Spartanburg and will be exported as a newcomer to approx. 120 countries in the Model Year 2000. The third new car model produced for the global market in this production site, the X5 has an 8 cylinder V engine and will be available in three new color variants.

When the production line for BMW was planned, the experts at BMW were looking for an extremely flexible automation solution that would allow highest availability of the plant. They opted for INTERBUS. Mike Ellison, project manager for control technology at BMW Spartanburg: "We felt that INTERBUS would simplify startup and the integration of other system components - and we were right."

Approximately one hundred robots will weld the underbody and the chassis of the X5. The production line is controlled by an Allen Bradley PLC-5 with an INTERBUS interface connection. INTERBUS modules can be found on each robot and communicate with the PLC via INTERBUS. Mike Ellison emphasized, "the open structure of the INTERBUS system was a decisive factor for us, since the system had to be compatible with the robot control system." As soon as production starts, the complete system will be put to test in only a few months. BMW is convinced that the system will function perfectly: "We had intensive training and very good technical support and are therefore certain that the system will guarantee high quality and performance," says the project manager.