Tailored solutions.

From customer consulting and the development and production of vehicle components to vehicle conversions, the 700 employees at the Mercedes-Benz Trucks site in Molsheim work hand in hand every day to deliver tailor-made solutions. The plant covers an area of 50,000 m² with 76 workstations and 6 paint booths.

Organizationally, Custom Tailored Trucks (CTT) is linked to the Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks business unit in Wörth, where around 1,000 employees annually produce 3,500 Econic, Unimog and Zetros. Since its founding in 2000, CTT has developed and produced more than 260,000 vehicles, representing almost 30,000 mounted axles, 8,000 m of shortened wheelbases and about 30,000 m of extended wheelbases — all with a single goal: to meet customers' needs worldwide.

Whether on European transit routes or in the most remote regions of the world: CTT trucks are in use in over 140 countries around the globe. This makes Mercedes‑Benz CTT the world's largest truck upfitter.

Whether for China, Brazil, New Zealand, the Middle East, Switzerland or Europe: all vehicles that are individually converted by CTT to customer specifications meet Mercedes‑Benz's strict standards and quality. This quality promise also applies to customer service and to spare parts, which are available through Mercedes‑Benz's worldwide dealer network.

Whether a long-distance, delivery or construction vehicle – a Mercedes‑Benz truck adapts to every task. However, in an increasingly complex world some options necessary for developing the ideal vehicle may be missing, despite the wide variety of the standard catalogue.

This is where Custom Tailored Trucks (CTT) comes into play, offering customised, specific solutions. CTT, recognised for its expertise, is the preferred point of contact when it comes to the assisted production of vehicles tailored to each customer’s specific requirements. After all, conversions at CTT are carried out in line with the motto: "Trucks you can trust".

Depending on the type of conversion at CTT, the standard production trucks are transported from the series production plant in Wörth to the conversion plant in Molsheim. Thus, the four-axle oilfield vehicles destined for China pass through the Alsatian production facilities to be converted there and, among other things, receive a wheelbase extension. For this purpose the components positioned in the frame as well as the rear axles are removed so that the frame rails can be cut and the extension and reinforcements welded in.

Due to the changed wheelbase, the driveshaft as well as the cables and lines must also be lengthened. At the same time, further modifications such as relocating the fuel tank or the battery box must be carried out.

Because of the variety and complexity of the processes, the workshop staff are highly qualified. Despite bespoke production, CTT uses the same Daimler Trucks production system as elsewhere. Thus, all conversions are subject to the same quality controls as the series-production vehicles. In addition, every step is carefully entered into the IT system to properly document the entire production process of each vehicle.

Further examples of conversions by CTT:

• Increasing payload: conversion from 4x4 to 6x4/4 with pneumatic suspension
• Cab modification: enlargement of the cab (double cab) for emergency vehicles, roof cutouts for refrigerated vehicles, etc.
• Chassis adaptation: reinforcement of the chassis, additional radiators, etc. for heavy-duty vehicles (up to 250 t)

The engineers in Molsheim work closely with the central development department of Daimler Trucks in Stuttgart. To optimise internal workflows and processes as effectively as possible, CTT employees also have access to floor space at the Wörth plant for small-series production. For regularly recurring requests with a specified quantity, the conversion is integrated directly into series production, subject to industrial feasibility, in order to achieve the highest possible level of efficiency.

Each conversion is fully documented as it would be for a mass-production vehicle. Customers can therefore have their vehicle repaired at the various Mercedes-Benz workshops worldwide; parts and components are available as spare parts and can – similar to series production – be identified by reference numbers. Furthermore, all conversions comply with Mercedes-Benz quality standards.

The second business division at the Molsheim site is small-batch production. Thanks to the expertise of the operators and their knowledge of processes in various areas such as sheet metal processing, machine welding, assembly and painting, 9,000 different items are produced each year.
State-of-the-art production equipment enables fast response times, high flexibility and recognised expertise in the manufacture of complex parts, ensuring the satisfaction of the customers, who in this case are the group's various locations. Annually, the 90 employees in parts manufacturing process around 1,500 tonnes of steel.

The third business area at Mercedes-Benz Trucks Molsheim is the production of Unimog cabs. The cabs of the implement carrier Unimog are fully assembled at the Molsheim site by skilled professionals and according to a clearly defined process. First, the steel base frame and the separately supplied body parts are joined together and bonded to form a cab.

For better paint adhesion, the cab is then sanded before being painted and dried. And finally, the cab undergoes the last step, quality control, under powerful spotlights for a perfect result. This lengthy process ends with the transport of the cab to the Wörth plant, where the Unimog vehicle is then fully assembled. In numerical terms, more than thirty employees produce over 1,000 cabs each year.