MBUSI Invites SME & SAE to Tour Plant, March 25

Mercedes Benz U.S. International (MBUSI) has invited members from SME and SAE to tour the Vance/Tuscaloosa plant. Please see notes below for further registration information.

About MBUSI:
Seventeen years have passed since MBUSI came to Alabama and North America as the first Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicle plant located outside of Germany. MBUSI is now well into the second chapter of its life, creating new products and expanding its impact on the Tuscaloosa community and Alabama.

Today, Plant Tuscaloosa represents in excess of a $1.29-billion investment. MBUSI currently has just under 3,000 Team Members and a capacity to build 160,000 vehicles. Plant Tuscaloosa builds the second generation M-Class, the R-Class Sports Tourer and the GL-Class full-size SUV. Plant Tuscaloosa also now builds the innovative new clean BlueTEC diesel technology into the R-Class, GL- and M-Class SUVs assembled here.

In 2009, the ML 450 Hybrid was launched in the U.S., and it was announced that MBUSI will build the next generation C-Class, set for launch in 2014. Vehicles built at MBUSI are solely built in Alabama for more than 135 markets around the world.

Tour date: Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tour start place: Plant 1 Lobby (beside Plant 1, east side parking lot)

Refreshments: 4:45pm to 5:30pm
MBUSI Presentation - Phil Johnston: 5:30pm - 5:50pm
Tours Start: 5:50pm (3 groups - sign up 1st come 1st serve)
Tour 1 - 5:50pm start
Tour 2 - 6:00pm start
Tour 3 - 6:10pm start
Tour length approx 1 1/4 hours.

Tour registration: Registrants will be forwarded schedule of events & map to MBUSI Plant 1, East Parking lot.
Tour requirements: Please bring your own PPE safety wear which should include: Long sleeve shirts, safety glasses, hearing protection; Steel toes not required as the tour groups will stay within the tour route. Please, bring along a photo identification so that attendees can be identified according to registration; a driver license should be acceptable.

Additional note=> for any people able to arrive VERY EARLY, they may take a walk thru the MBUSI Visitor Center which is open from 8:30am until 4:30pm, Monday thru Friday.

Please, Register via the open ONLINE REGISTRATION site at http://www.inline.com/sme. Please, check the PAYMENT Box, Not Applicable. There is no fee for this event. We are in the process of modifying the online registration to meet the Mercedes tour requirements.

Questions: Please contact Blane Vines, email blane.vines@bhamfast.com .

Our April Meeting is scheduled for "the innaugural GRAND PRIX of ALABAMA", sometime April 9 - 11, 2010. Please, view http://www.barbermotorsports.com for more information about this Indy car circuit event. Tickets cost $70.00 each (advance payment) for a 3-day pass, Fri - Sun. SME and Precision Grinding will host 4 tents in the Lot D camping area for those wishing to gather together. All individuals must have a 3-day pass in order to enter the campsite area. We will post more information about the Barber Motor Sports event following the Mercedes tour.

Your SME webmaster, Brian.

UAB to host SolidWorks Seminar at Inline 2/22/10

Inline will host our upcoming February 22, 2010 meeting from 5:00 - 7:30 p. Tina Oliver, Assistant Professor, UAB School of Engineering and some of her students will demonstrate the MS Excel Spreadsheet design portion of SolidWorks. Designing a "parts lists" or a "list of materials" from within a CAD program is becoming a standard requirement, inside the sales & estimation departments of many of our companies. Tina has graciously accepted the task to introduce our membership, along with any invited guests to learn more about engaging some of these "higer functions" within CAD programs. Hope to see all of you at our Monday evening meeting.

Tina and the UAB Mechanical Engineering Department also sponsor and compete in the university BAJA competitions. Several of the BAJA engineering students may be in attendance, serving as our guides. UAB also fields a competitive FSAE team, a university Formula1 sponsored team. SME Birmingham Chapter 143 is doing our best to help support, rather to offset some of their financial requirements. As noted, in our January, 2010 blog, several of us attended the FSAE testing & trials at Barbers Motorsports where Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Louisville fielded competitive teams.

Please, register your interest by visiting the Online Registration Form for this seminar event. We're seeking a $25.00 donation to help support some of the endeavors of the UAB BAJA Team.

Directions to Inline:

From I-65 at the Lakeshore Exit, drive west, passing Wildwood and John Carroll High School, until you meet West Oxmoor Road. Turn right onto W. Oxmoor Road, then take an immediate left into the Inline parking lot. Please, find parking available, then enter the main glass doors at the front of the building. We'll meet in the front lobby before moving into the conference room. Note, light dinner refreshments will be served. If you wish to bring along a notebook computer, please, do so. Inline's phone number is (205) 278-8100. Martin Costa, CPA, CEO and his team will serve as our hosts.

No Safety gear required. Please, Email Mark.Partyka@siemens.com with any questions, as he is taking command of the online registration requirements. You may discuss further details with Mark Partyka by telephone at (205) 907-3681.