Officials from Mercedes-Benz spent the day with Anderson University students recently to learn more about the growing program in business at the University and to seek a new partnership that would lead to internship and job opportunities for Anderson students and graduates.
Mercedes-Benz Vans, LLC is part of the division Mercedes-Benz Vans of Daimler AG, Germany. It is a plant in South Carolina that assembles Sprinter vans for the U.S. market under the brands Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner, with headquarters in Charleston, SC. The midsize Metris van was added to the assembly line in 2015. Mercedes-Benz Vans announced in March 2015 that it will invest $500 million in construction of a new Sprinter production plant, in addition to an expansion of existing assembly operations. The new facility will be also located in Charleston, and will provide up to 1,300 jobs. More than 130,000 Sprinter have been assembled in Charleston and delivered to destinations in the U.S. since 2006
The College of Business is pursuing partnership opportunities with premier SC and global employers in order to provide AU students with quality internship experiences and ultimately full-time employment. In furtherance of that pursuit, representatives of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Vans visited campus on September 19, 2016, and had lunch in the new Student Center with President Whitaker, members of the COB faculty and several business students.
Following lunch the group moved to the Chapman Multi-Media room of the Thrift Library where, Steve Nail, dean of the College of Business gave the representatives an overview of Anderson University and specifically its business programs. Dean Nail focused on the quality of AU faculty, the students and the quality of the educational experience. He also discussed the new COB internship approach. The Mercedes team, which was highly complimentary of the program at AU, talked about their manufacturing and assembly processes and what it was like to work for an international, quality brand. Students were encouraged to pursue internships and full-time employment.