All articles by Nick Holt – Page 22
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Boron steel for increasing range of applications
Ovako says it now has 37 different material grades of low-alloy boron steel in its melt programme. The company claims these, when heat treated, can achieve properties comparable with those of higher alloy steels.To produce this only small additions of boron are required which, in combination with carbon and other ...
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Rice used in F-150
USA – Ford is using plastic reinforced with rice hulls – a byproduct of rice grain – in an electrical harness in the 2014 F-150.The rice hulls replace a talc-based reinforcement in a polypropylene composite made by RheTech, a Michigan-based automotive supplier.Materials development engineers at Ford Materials Engineering, Testing and ...
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VDL Steelweld reports Q2 orders
VDL Steelweld has received orders totalling €200m during the second quarter of this year, including from Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo and Ford.www.vdlgroep.com
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IAC has first jv in South Africa
International Automotive Components (IAC) has announced a joint venture with Feltex Automotive, a South Africa-based supplier of automotive flooring, acoustics and trim components. The joint venture marks IAC’s entry into the growing South African market. Feltex has operated in South Africa since 1937.www.iacgroup.com
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BorgWarner starts new output in China
BorgWarner United Transmission Systems has started delivery of its DualTronic control modules and clutch modules with integral torsional dampers for SAIC’s new six-speed wet dual-clutch transmission (DCT), the company says. Both modules are being built at the company’s plant in Dalian, China.www.borgwarner.com
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GAC to build Acura
Guangzhou Automobile Group and Honda have signed a basic agreement to jointly conduct Acura business in China. The two companies will begin discussing plans to begin local production of Acura brand vehicles at Guangqi Honda Automobile in 2016.www.gaig.com.cnwww.honda.com
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GKN to build more axles for BMW
GKN Driveline is to supply the front axle for a number of BMW X Series Sports Activity Vehicles, it says. The company’s plant in Newton, North Carolina, will supply front final drive units (FDUs) for the current X3 from August and other high performance X models later this year. GKN ...
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AP&T supplies to Gedia
Germany – Vehicle component manufacturer Gedia has ordered a complete press hardening production line to manufacture car body parts, from AP&T for its facilities in Attendorn. In addition to an Oden press with 1,250 tons of press force and all automation, the order also includes AP&T's Multi Layer Furnace.www.aptgroup.com
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Perceptron Users Meeting 2013
Germany – Bratislava was the venue for this year’s international metrology users’ meeting hosted by Perceptron. The three-day event featured presentations from metrology users, workshops, training seminars, demo stands and a visit to the local Volkswagen plant.Visitors from nine countries included representatives of quality control, planning and purchasing departments from ...
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Nissan production capacity in Americas to reach 2m units by 2014
USA – Nissan is expanding its manufacturing footprint in the the Americas with an investment of more than $5 billion in new plants and increased production volumes.The move comes in response to strong growth opportunities and in an effort to isolate itself from volatility in global currencies.Nissan is expanding in ...
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Renault-Nissan develop together for first time
India – The first all-new programme developed from the ground up by Renault and Nissan teams working side by side is set to cover the most affordable category of cars in the Common Module Family (CMF),Renault-Nissan’s modular system of vehicle architecture. CMF divides vehicles into five modules: the engine bay, ...
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Mazda’s Mexico engine plant
Japan – Mazda’s new Mexican engine machining factory will produce around 230,000 engines per year from October 2014.Construction of the buildings which will house the vehicle and engine assembly lines, is complete and operations should start in the fourth quarter of fiscal year ending March 2014.By localising production and increasing ...
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Hyundai boosts European production capacity
Turkey – Expansion of Hyundai’s Izmit manufacturing plant will increase capacity to 200,000 vehicles annually by 2014.The upgrade will allow the facility to build the forthcoming i10 in addition to the new i20. The success of the Izmit facility, in which the company has invested more than €1 billion ($1.3 ...
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Production of Sprinter vehicles starts at GAZ’s Nizhny Novgorod plant
Germany/Russia: Daimler and GAZ have invested more than €190m ($250m) to launch the local production of Mercedes- Benz Sprinter Classic – one of the largest investment projects in recent years in the Russian automotive industry.To facilitate production of Sprinter Classic vehicles, about 90,000 square meters of production and logistics facilities ...
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Johnson Controls jv with Zhejiang
Johnson Controls has agreed to form a new joint venture with Zhejiang Wanfang New Materials to set up a plant for automotive fabrics in Haining. The joint venture will supply major automakers in China and abroad with automotive and functional fabrics for automotive seating and interior products.www.johnsoncontrols.com
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Shanghai-Volkswagen starts SKD at Urumqi
Shanghai-Volkswagen (SVW) has started SKD assembly of the Santana model at Urumqi, in Western China. With the planned start of the plant’s own paint shop and body shop, the factory will produce up to 50,000 vehicles per year from 2014.www.volkswagen-group.com
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Bianor opens in Romania
Injection moulding specialist Bianor has opened a new production site in Ploiesti, Romania in order to create more effective ‘just-in-time’ supply chains in Central and Eastern Europe. Set over 4,700 square metres, ten production machines for the planning and manufacture of plastic injection moulding are set in stock, with a ...
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Schuler extends its production in China
Press manufacturer Schuler has invested €16m in expanding its Dalian site to triple its production capacity.The new plant can produce stamping and cutting systems as well as hydraulic machines and press and blanking lines.www.schulergroup.com
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Magneti Marelli shines in Tennessee
A new Magneti Marelli plant for the production of headlamps and rear lights has been inaugurated in Pulaski, Tennessee. The company’s first lighting production plant in the US has a capacity of 2.5m units a year, increasing to 5m in 2016. Orders from Chrysler Group, Mercedes and GM have already ...
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Magna expands in China
Magna Steyr unit has opened a new engineering centre in the Tiexi District of Shenyang to position itself for further expansion with customers in the northern part of China. At full capacity, the new 1,050-square-metre centre will house more than 100 engineers.www.magna.com