| | The story of the Wörth plant |
The first contact with Daimler Benz AG was established by the subsequent Wörth harbour Director Dr. Mohn. He pointed out the favourable infrastructure situation in the Upper Rhine area. This was received with great interest by the decision-makers in Stuttgart, but Stuttgart was "currently not interested in the acquisition of new industrial space". A short while later, however, Daimler-Benz did show interest. After negotiations lasting several months, Wörth council permitted transfer of the former agriculturally used area to Daimler-Benz AG. The location is also known as the Wörth Island because the 1,500,000 square metre area lies in a former bend in the Rhine. First cut in the sod: March 1962.
1963 Start of production: "Day 1" is the 1st of October 1963. With a staff of around 100, production of the truck cabs begins. At this point, the primed shells are still delivered to the plants in Gaggenau and Mannheim for further processing. Within one year, 22,500 cabs are delivered. In December 1964, the first "interior fitted" and "finish-lacquered" cabs of type LP 314 are manufactured.
1965 Start-up of truck assembly: The first complete vehicle rolls off the assembly line on 14th July 1965. This is an LP 608 truck in the new lightweight class, assembled in pilot series, with 6 tons permissible overall weight and 80 hp. A prophecy from a local newspaper later proved to be true. It commented on a pile of broken indicator glass following a minor collision during the launch: "Broken crockery brings you luck!" After all, the factory grew to become the largest truck plant in Europe. In 1965, a total of 800 vehicles are manufactured in the South Palatinate and, by the end of the year, production of the model LP 608 is transferred completely from Mannheim to Wörth. At this time, the number of buildings on the factory premises is increasing, for example, the administration building, the training workshop and the catering block.
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Models
