Surrounded by floor to ceiling glass, the just-opened brand new headquarters of Mercedes-Benz USA is already raising the bar for Atlanta. Located just 10 minutes outside of the city in Sandy Springs, the official grand opening of the world headquarters took place on Thursday, March 15. Major state and city power players including Governor Nathan Deal and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms were among those in attendance welcoming the headquarters to Atlanta.
“What a beautiful building this is! It’s hard to top the seal of approval from the world to have Mercedes-Benz choose Georgia as its headquarters,” said Governor Nathan Deal during the opening ceremony celebration.
On display during the exciting presentation were not only the new Mercedes-Benz models for sale, but the new Hyper Sports Car, Concept Car, and even a replica of the original Benz motor car, the first car made, which drove up during the presentation.
Dietmar Exler, president, and CEO of MBUSA excitedly spoke to the crowd. “All the stars are aligned. Our new Atlanta headquarters marks a highpoint for Mercedes-Benz in the U.S. market. Not just in terms of being the leading luxury brand in the U.S. for the past two years, but also in terms of this building which is designed from the inside out to enable a creative, innovative and empowered workforce more representative of a start-up than a conventional corporation.”
Quite impressive even from the outside, the 200,000 square foot building, located on a 12-acre campus near Georgia 400, at the middle of the intersection of Mercedes-Benz Drive is a sleek and modern structure made entirely of glass enabling transparency and giving employees the benefits of natural sunlight anywhere in the building.
Built to accommodate their workforce, there are many innovative and convenient features all throughout the campus. An atrium considered the heart of the building, divides the building itself into the North and South Work Bars. The luxury building also has its own conference center, a coffee bar (with its own barista), a restaurant-quality cafe emphasizing locally sourced ingredients, a 5,000 square foot fitness center with trainers and more.
Also, environmentally friendly features were incorporated throughout and the company is now a proud partner with Atlanta-based food rescue organization called Second Helpings Atlanta in order to eliminate their food waste at the facility.
The Stuttgart, Germany-based luxury automobile maker, which moved its U.S. headquarters from Montvale, New Jersey, to Sandy Springs, Georgia, houses the company’s North American sales and marketing staff. The newcomers expressed their excitement for the future in Georgia and this ceremony and the unveiling of the headquarters marked a very important day for Atlanta. Future initiatives and projects were announced and very well received.
Axel Harris, Daimler vice president sales Mercedes-Benz cars and product management Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars, announced their plans to establish an incubator-type entity called Lab1886 in Atlanta by the summer of 2018.
“Atlanta is a true city of the future- a perfect match for Mercedes-Benz,” says Harris.
Named for the year the first Mercedes-Benz vehicle was built, Atlanta’s Lab 1886 will join the three existing locations in Beijing, Berlin, and Stuttgart.
“We’re going to start it small and hopefully grow it,” Exler added. “This is the perfect environment for innovation.”
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms also praised the company for its work to revitalize Atlanta’s Westside where the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened in August. “We are excited about what’s coming to Atlanta very soon,” Mayor Bottoms says. “The partnerships between the corporation, nonprofits, and government here in the city are incomparable.”
In fact, the company has already made itself well-known in the community for its efforts to educated and empower the next generation, MBUSA is involved with over 50 organizations to address local needs in the community.
Welcome to Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz USA!
