BMW OPENS NEW PAINT AND BODY TRAINING CENTER First West Coast Facility for Teaching Tools of the Trade
BMW OPENS NEW PAINT AND BODY TRAINING CENTER First West Coast Facility for Teaching Tools of the Trade Oxnard, CA, June 4, 2002...The BMW Group today officially opened its third state-of-the-art paint and body training center in Oxnard, California. The new $ 3 million facility, located near the BMW Vehicle Distribution Center on Arcturus Road near the Port of Hueneme, is used to train apprentices in collision repair and body paint application - skills that are in increasingly high demand. "California is one of the largest markets for BMW worldwide, supported by 26 BMW dealers and 11 MINI dealers. BMW sold nearly 50,000 BMWs in California last year," said Tom Purves, Chairman and CEO of BMW (US) Holding Corp., who was in Oxnard for today's grand opening ceremony. "With sales of BMW and MINI vehicles growing annually, the need for qualified paint and body technicians keeps increasing. BMW was the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S. for the first four months of this calendar year." The top graduates from recognized post-secondary technical schools across the country are selected for BMW's elite, nine-month Service Technician Education Program, known as S.T.E.P. This program is an intensive combination of classroom theory and hands-on work. During their nine-month apprenticeships, students receive salaries and live locally. They pay no tuition and are assisted in securing a position at a BMW or MINI dealership upon completion of the program. "BMW Group is recognized as an innovator - whether it's for leading -edge safety, performance technology, or for creative solutions to filling needs in the workplace," said Rick Soles, Paint and Body Development and Training Manager for BMW Group. "BMW launched this program in 1992 and it has expanded as the need has grown. There are now 1.4 million BMWs on the road in the U.S. " The STEP Program has graduated 88 technicians from its facilities in Montvale, New Jersey and Spartanburg, South Carolina over the years. A total of 24 students per year will be trained with the addition of the Oxnard facility. The new training facility will also host educational programs for dealership personnel. Shorter, three to five day classes will provide experienced technicians with training in the latest, most advanced collision, body and paint repair techniques. Collision center managers also have the opportunity to hone their leadership skills at regularly scheduled Management Training courses. "While South Carolina is BMW's manufacturing center in North America, California has become our design and technology center," Purves noted. Within the same Oxnard complex is BMW Group's recently completed $28 million Engineering and Vehicle Emission Testing Center and a Vehicle Distribution Center - the final quality inspection point for approximately 200 BMW and MINI vehicles that arrive on the west coast each day from England, Germany and Spartanburg, S.C. Designworks USA, BMW Group's wholly-owned worldwide industrial design firm, is located nearby in Newbury Park. Other BMW Group facilities in California include a technology office in Silicon Valley and a Western Regional Office and Parts Distribution Center in Ontario. BMW Group in America BMW of North America has been present in the United States since 1975. Since then, the BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales and financial service organizations for the BMW and MINI brands; a South Carolina manufacturing operation; DESIGNWORKS/USA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. The BMW Group is represented in the U.S. through a network of 340 car, 327 Sports Activity Vehicle and 148 motorcycle retailers. BMW US Holding Corp., the Group's headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at http://www.bmwusa.com, http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com and http://www.miniusa.com. # # # Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available to journalists on-line at the BMW Group PressClub at the following address - www.press.bmwgroup.com. # # # Laura Leiponis Corporate Communications BMW Group 300 Chestnut Ridge Road Woodcliff Lake, N.J. 07677 phone: (201) 307-3606 fax: (201) 307-3607 e-mail: laura.leiponis@bmwna.com