• New facility for driver, product and service training in the immediate vicinity of the Mannheim bus plant
• Perfect infrastructure for training courses for up to 14 persons and special events with large groups
• Modern, high-voltage workshop enables training on current electric bus technology
• Opening on March 6, 2023

Leinfelden-Echterdingen / Mannheim – Whether product training for sales, qualification of service employees or bus driver training: Training courses for a wide variety of target groups have always been a top priority at Daimler Buses. Daimler Buses is now combining training activities at the Mannheim site under one roof with the newly established Customer Campus Mannheim, a state-of-the-art training, exhibition and workshop site in the immediate vicinity of the bus plant. The recently furbished facilities – presentation hall, training rooms and high-voltage workshop – with their state-of-the-art equipment offer the ideal conditions for professional qualifications.

A modern training center in just twelve months

“The previous training facilities were no longer up to the current state of the art and offered only limited opportunities to work directly on the buses during the training,” according to Tobias Wölki, Team Leader Training at Daimler Buses. "When facilities became available in the ONC bus new vehicle center not far from the plant, we immediately seized the opportunity. I am particularly proud of the commitment and energy of our team in taking on the Customer Campus project and implementing it in record time. Only twelve months have elapsed from the initial idea in January 2022 to the finished training and event center." The official opening of the Customer Campus Mannheim will take place on March 6, 2023.

For the first time, training on live systems is possible

In an area of 580 square meters, the Daimler Buses training team will have three training rooms, two parking spaces for training vehicles and a fully equipped high-voltage workshop with a platform on each side for working on the roof of the bus. In addition, the workshop will be secured so that only authorized training participants will have access to it. “This means that for the first time we now also have the opportunity to train on live components in electric buses in Mannheim,” declared Wölki, pointing out one of the many advantages of the new Customer Campus Mannheim. Until now, that had only been possible at the Dortmund training site. The function and setting of pantographs can also be clearly demonstrated and trained in the new workshop.

“With the increasing number of electric buses in more and more fleets, the need for high-voltage qualification for our own employees as well as for workshop employees in the service outlets and customer workshops has risen significantly,” added Wölki, emphasizing the need for expanding training course offerings.

Training buses in close proximity

In addition to state-of-the-art technology and ample space for up to 14 participants each, the “Bertha”, “Carl” and “Benz” training rooms are in close proximity to the workshop, which will make it easy to quickly switch from theory to practice, i.e. to the training buses or to the workshop. While the “Berta” and “Benz” rooms were designed for intensive work with training material at tables, the training team set up the “Carl” room in a corner of the spacious presentation hall as a sizable lecture room. Beautifully designed wooden seating elements developed together with a local carpentry company have been arranged here in a semi-circle around a presentation area and offer space for up to 30. Depending on the occasion and requirements, a city or intercity bus or touring coach from Mercedes-Benz or Setra will provide the perfect backdrop.

In addition to the building with rooms, hall parking spaces and workshop, a large open space is part of the new Customer Campus Mannheim. Fire safety exercises will be held there, for example, or bus driver training courses during which participants can learn about the challenges for passengers with restrictive mobility from the passengers' perspective during a fast stop-and-go interlude.

Around 150 training sessions annually

Last but not least, the proximity to the Mannheim bus plant with the option of a production tour and the good accessibility and nearby parking facilities in the staff parking lot make the Mannheim Customer Campus an attractive site for bus-related training measures in southern Germany.

The Daimler Buses training team will conduct around 150 training sessions annually at the Customer Campus Mannheim and will be helped by the fact that the new facilities will allow threetraining sessions to take place simultaneously. In addition to Tobias Wölki, the Daimler Buses Bus & Coach Training team includes three technical trainers, a product trainer and three employees for organization and event management. “We offer both publicly accessible training courses for which anyone can register as well as courses for certain groups, for example for customers’ employees,” Wölki explained. "In doing so, we will be focusing on the technology of city buses – simply because of the proximity to the plant. However, we will also offer product training and technical training for touring coaches." Professional driver training on various topics will round out the extensive training program.

Further information on the training sites and the Bus Training Platform is available at the following website: www.omniplus.com/de/support/training