All Press and stamping articles – Page 12
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ArticleGAZelle Next panel van now in production
Russia – The OEM has invested 6 billion roubles ($94.4m) to introduce its new model, including significant modernisation of its Nizhny Novgorod plant. With the launch of the GAZelle Next panel van, the company has entered the segment of vans with capacity over 13 cubic metres and will be competing ...
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ArticleShowing real steel
ArcelorMittal has invested heavily to produce AHSS for the automotive industry. Chris Wright visits the company’s Sagunto plant, Spain, which is ramping up to produce 150,000 tons of Usibor per year from 2016ArcelorMittal has collaborated with OEMs to develop steel solutions that meet critical requirements in terms of weight reduction ...
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ArticleGM’s latest stamping facility receives first presses
US – The new equipment at the $174m stamping facility at Lansing Grand River (LGR) Assembly Plant is expected to save the OEM about $14m per year in logistical costs associated with material handling. The presses will stamp parts for the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro plus the Cadillac ATS and CTS.The ...
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ArticleReady to roll
Rollforming innovations are supporting the crucial development targets of cost saving and weight reduction, writes Heinrich Weber, director of sales and marketing at Dreistern UHSS bumper with variable radiusRollforming has demonstrated its capability to process ultra-high strength steels (UHSS) with a tensile strength up to 1,600MPa. Such steels already contribute ...
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ArticleFCA Kokomo earns Bronze WCM status
US – The facility in Indiana has become the 11th North American location to be recognised in this way – and the first involved in die casting. Kokomo also joins two transmission plants in Indiana which were given Bronze status last year.Kokomo Casting underwent a two-day audit, during which it ...
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ArticleNorth America's rise before a fall?
Global vehicle-makers are investing in their manufacturing operations across the US and Mexico; AMS reviews the latest developments – and how they position the automotive industry for the next downturnGM splashes the cashFord shuffles production line-upFCA holds back on expansionToyota prepares for mega-platformNissan expands in the US and MexicoHonda boosts ...
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ArticleInterview: Keishi Egawa, Mazda
The OEM’s president and CEO in Mexico explains what its first North American factory means to MazdaKeishi Egawa, president and CEO, MMVOAMS: To what extent has the new Salamanca factory been inspired by Mazda’s plants in Japan, and is the level of production technology just as high?Keishi Egawa (KE): The ...
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ArticleInterview: Ford's Ron Ketelhut
The chief body construction engineer who masterminded the renovation of the F-150 bodyshop to make aluminium pick-ups explains how this was done in just one month – resulting in cleaner, quieter productionAMS: Compared with other projects you have previously worked on, how challenging was the bodyshop renovation for the F-150 ...
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ArticleBodyshop of the future
In order to turn its bestselling F-150 into an aluminium vehicle, Ford first had to transform the bodyshop"It’s extremely quiet, it’s clean, it’s small” – this seems like a modest description for the home of the automotive manufacturing innovation that has perhaps caused more noise than any other over the ...
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ArticleVW Puebla pushes on
A veteran of vehicle production in the country, VW is nonetheless still expanding at Puebla – adding a new bodyshop for the Golf last year and another for the Tiguan that will open in 2017. AMS went to look aroundAt 550,000 sq.m on 3m sq.m of land, VW Puebla is ...
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ArticleA magnet for manufacturing
Low-cost labour and free-trade deals are attracting investment in Mexico by global OEMs and suppliersVehicle production is booming in Mexico. In 2014, a record 3.22m vehicles were made there, an increase of nearly 10% on 2013. Much of the rising production was in response to strong demand from the US ...
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ArticleIntegrating electrification
OEMs face the challenge of assimilating a growing number of electric vehicles and assemblies into their production operations. Volkswagen and Renault have each taken the plunge with the e-up! and the ZoeFive kilometres from the heart of the Slovakian capital, on the north bank of the Danube, is the Volkswagen ...
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ArticleNissan's A-team in Mexico
As the Japanese OEM adds new facilities for Infiniti and Mercedes production at its complex in the north-central state of Aguascalientes, AMS examines the reasons behind the long-standing success of this operationNissan is close to hitting capacity in Mexico again thanks to the continuing success of its Aguascalientes manufacturing complex ...
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ArticleLDT: GM's Delta force
As GM splashes the cash across North America, AMS goes to see $583m worth of improvements to the OEM’s newest factory in the region – including a new bodyshop capable of mixed-material joining methodsLansing Delta Township (LDT) in Michigan is General Motors’ newest plant in North America, opened in 2006 ...
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ArticleFord, Alcoa collaborate on aluminium
US – The OEM had already selected Alcoa’s Micromill product for its aluminium-bodied 2016 F-150 pick-up truck, but the two companies have now also entered a joint development agreement to expand the range of next-generation aluminium alloys for automotive components.Micromill was made public in December 2014 and is claimed to ...
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ArticleTesting the water
Hydroforming is making quite a splash among automotive companies seeking to produce lightweight yet robust components which also meet stringent safety requirements; AMS reviews the latest techniquesThe fact that Vari-Form has been selected by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) US as its 2015 Supply Chain Management Supplier of the Year speaks ...
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ArticleHonda: Getting Fit in Mexico
The Japanese OEM has designated its Mexican factory at Celaya as its centre of small-car production in the Americas – while a new transmission plant will take its total investment in the region to $21 billionWith the opening of its Celaya plant in central Mexico at the start of last ...
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ArticleIndia: The last BRIC standing
As other emerging markets decline, India is still seeing significant investment by global vehicle-makers Vehicle-makers are stepping up their campaigns to crack the difficult Indian automotive market after the country became the most promising of the emerging BRIC nations following market collapses in Brazil and Russia and a cooling in ...
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ArticleStamp of approval
Chang Tiejun, body area manager at Changan Mazda's Nanjing facility, discusses the challenges of keeping pace with demand, handling changing materials and vehicle architectures, and planning for the futureAMS: Do you have both blanking and stamping operations here at Nanjing?Chang Tiejun (CT): We only have stamping operations at this location; ...
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ArticleSaltillo South Engine gains WCM Bronze
Mexico – The FCA facility in Coahuila has become the third in the country and the tenth in North America to achieve this World Class Manufacturing (WCM) status, five years after implementing the system.Saltillo South Engine Plant (SSEP) assembles the 3.6-litre Pentastar V-6 engine, which powers the Dodge Journey, Dodge ...