All Closures and consolidation articles – Page 6
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ArticleTurbo-powering PSA Douvrin
Peugeot starts making its new 1.2-litre, three-cylinder direct-injection engine at Française de MécaniqueThe Française de Mécanique engine factory in Douvrin, north-west France, has built more than 48m power units for PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault and Volvo since its inception in 1969, but arguably none has been more significant than the ...
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ArticleMagna Closures grows in Dortec
Canada – The latching technology division of Magna International is expanding its manufacturing facility to produce electronic systems and modules for the automotive industry. The $1.5m investment will also boost the workforce by 75 personnel.Manufacturing activities at the site will focus on electronic closure modules for power closure and roof ...
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ArticleQuality performance
Quality and automation are intrinsically linked when it comes to automotive welding operations.Enhancing the level of automation in the welding process cannot be achieved without associated weld quality monitoring systems. Put simply, any auto plant willing to switch off its manual element needs to implement process safeguards that ensure the ...
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ArticleSmall, efficient and a true survivor within GM Europe
Press lineSharing the stressBodyshop ingenuity Future visionAssembly expertiseLuton today – economic and effectiveAll new for X82A good example of how things have changed at Luton, UK over the years is the shift patterns: in 2008, the plant ran three shifts but at present runs two, from 6.00 am to 21.30 ...
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ArticleGM Europe – the group in profile
Around the region – plants and plansEllesmere Port – a true union successKaiserslautern – engines and alloysGeneral Motors Europe AG, a subsidiary of the global group, was established by GM in 1986 and has operated up to 14 production and assembly facilities in nine countries, and employed around 54,500 people. ...
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ArticleDirty work in the clean-up
PCB sludgeTaking chargeActioning clean upVisible improvementTypical problemsOne of the biggest clean-up projects involving a redundant automotive manufacturing site in the United States – at least as far as its $120 million predicted cost is concerned – is currently taking place at the former General Motors Massena aluminium diecasting plant in ...
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ArticleThe Chinese market starts to mature
Rationalising the manufacturing baseElectric DreamsMercedes-Benz plans rapid -ramp-upIn preparation for the second AMS China conference, to be held June 28 – 30 at the Intercontinental Shanghai Pudong hotel, AMS recently visited several carmakers and suppliers in China. Some interesting themes emerged from the meetings and plant visits, both in manufacturing ...
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ArticleDetroit of the East
GM’s Martin Apfel and Ford’s Joe Hinrichs describe how these two global giants are moving forward with plans to turn Thailand into a regional manufacturing hubChanging relationshipsSustained growthSupplier catch upConfidence is infectiousStar in ascendanceThe sign above the entrance to the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate in Rayong, Thailand, proclaims it to ...
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ArticleBack from the brink
For a relatively small market, Canada punches way above its weight. The country’s annual vehicle sales may total only around one tenth of those of its southern neighbour, but the province of Ontario is home to many car and light truck plants, each of which has an enviable export programme.Detroit ...
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ArticleThe cost of downsizing
How the remediation of former manufacturing facilities belonging to GM, Ford and Chrysler is – and is not – being carried out, where the money comes from, and who is ultimately responsible for doing the workGM and Motors Liquid CorporationMichigan state of mindFord outlines site cleanup criteriaMore trouble for KenoshaThe ...
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ArticlePremium paintshop principles
Turnkey solutions and specificationsAluminium – low weight – big headache?Sludge control technologiesWet-on-wet – the way forward?Powder clearcoat – good for BMW but not JLRSourcing chemicals – the multi-supplier approachPrimerless paintColour matching challengesMatt finishes – will they ever be volume painted?Dream budgetCombining the finishing of upper-segment saloons, coupes and sports cars ...
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ArticleEdging success
New solutionsGetting it doneMachine lifeDV Automation is both an equipment supplier and contract manufacturer serving various OEMsDVA is, together with Thompson Friction Welding, a subsidiary of Kuka AG. While the company also carries out contract manufacturing, for example delivering axles to Land Rover and piston cylinders to JCB, DVA’s core ...
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ArticleNew survival strategies at GM and Mitsubishi
Future solutionsNedCar futureCross-brand co-operationIt is an observation of gross understatement to say that Nick Reilly, President of GM Europe and CEO of Opel/Vauxhall, has his work cut out for him. Having taken the lead role in the reorganization of Opel on an interim basis after the resignation of Carl-Peter Forster, ...
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ArticleClear opportunity for Guardian Automotive
Designers and engineers in automotive production view glass as a rather tiresome necessity; fragile and brittle, it is not an ideal material to install in a machine subject to torsional stresses, severe jolts and almost constant vibration. In the early days of motoring, glass windscreens replaced goggles as a method ...
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ArticlePushing boundaries at Ford India
Part deliverySignal interferenceIncreased automationA better body shopPioneering paint shop technologyAll in one placePreparing for exportsWhile car sales in China have tended to grab the recent headlines, sales in India – and particularly small car sales - continue to increase at a break-neck pace, with market leader Maruti Suzuki posting record ...
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ArticleSurviving the storm at JLR
Body shop – robot re-useCelebrity squaresSealing out the elementsPaintshop and final assembly – raising the quality barINTERVIEW Michael StraughanThe Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant at Halewood, UK, occupies a 300-acre site and provides capacity for the Jaguar X-Type and Freelander models. It is equipped for up to 100,00 cars per ...
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ArticleWhat lies beneath the site
History in the makingNew beginning for Browns LaneEven before the recent slowdown, questions of how to deal with a industrial plant at the end of its useful life had preoccupied automakers for some time. The core concept of what an automotive manufacturing site should be has, after half a century ...
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ArticleCogniTens launches OptiCell
CogniTens, part of the Hexagon Metrology group and a leading provider of 3D optical measurement solutions, has announced the launch of a European demo centre for its fully-automated 3D measurement system, OptiCell.OptiCell is a measurement system designed to support off-line recurring parts and assemblies measurements in the production fl oor ...
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ArticleEditor's Note: Surviving in weak markets
The knock-on effect of the downturn in carmaking has started to take its toll on major suppliers to the auto industry. With an estimated 33% drop in orders over the last 12 months, Corus Steel has announced it plans to layoff 3,200 employees. Bought in 2007 by Tata Steel, the ...
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ArticleBuilding trust to invest in Canada
Size mattersLooking aheadThreat from the southProvoking union ireBuyers are the solutionThrow a stone seemingly anywhere in Ontario and chances are it will land somewhere near either a parts or vehicle manufacturing facility. Home to OEM operations of companies such as GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Toyota and Suzuki, plus Tier suppliers ...