Mercedes-Benz Vans supplier Kuehne & Nagel to hire 180 people

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The ongoing expansion of Mercedes-Benz Vans’ campus in Ladson has attracted another company to launch operations in the Lowcountry.

Kuehne & Nagel Inc., a Germany-based transport and logistics company, plans to hire 180 workers over the next three years at its new facility on the Mercedes campus off Palmetto Commerce Parkway.

The new operation will provide production logistics services for the Mercedes plant, including goods receiving, inventory management, just-in-time picking and sequencing for delivery, according to a news release.

Established in 1890, Kuehne & Nagel has more than 1,300 offices and 70,000 employees globally.

“We are delighted to expand our 15-year global relationship with the Daimler Group by working with Mercedes-Benz Vans LLC, one of the group companies,” Bob Mihok, Kuehne & Nagel North America’s president and CEO, said in the release. “Our supply chain services in the new Charleston, S.C., Sprinter van plant will improve assembly line productivity and enhance vehicle production.”

Mercedes-Benz Vans has been reassembling vans from its site near North Charleston for more than a decade. The Sprinter and Metris vans are produced in Europe, broken down into parts to fit into shipping containers, brought in through the Port of Charleston and reassembled in the Lowcountry.

That process will change by the end of the decade. The Mercedes campus is undergoing a $500 million expansion to enable the site to produce its Sprinter vans from start to finish for the North American market. Metris vans will still be reassembled for now, company officials have said.

Companies have opened facilities nearby in preparation of the expansion completion. Most recently, BLG Logistics said it plans to open a facility in Ladson to also manage parts and inventory for Mercedes’ production operations.