Automation – Page 292
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ArticleBarnes to lead VW’s sales in America
US – Mark Barnes will take up the role of vice-president, Sales at the start of February. He joins the company from General Motors, where he was vice-president of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales for the International Operations division. Barnes has previously served in a number of senior positions at Volkswagen ...
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ArticleMaruti Suzuki to expand in Gujurat
India – Following a proposal from Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) to implement the project through a 100% Suzuki subsidiary, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) will build on land which was acquired in October last year, including 640 acres in Becharaji and 550 acres in Vithalapur. MSIL will enter into a ...
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ArticleMagna makes 5 millionth VW axle drive
Austria – Production for Volkswagen began in 2003, with the Magna Powertrain plants in Lannach and Ilz supplying the VW Golf and the Audi A3; other models were added in subsequent years.According to Magna, the additional business from other models led to “a rapid increase in production volume” and the ...
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ArticleTesla to open Chinese plants for Model S
China – According to the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, growth in sales in the region could match US demand potentially as soon as 2015, and therefore justify local manufacture.Musk intends to inaugurate Tesla’s presence in China at the end of March. In the US, assembly preparations for the Model S ...
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ArticleRenschler resigns from Mercedes-Benz
Germany – As Daimler’s board of management member for Manufacturing and Procurement Mercedes-Benz Cars, Andreas Renschler oversaw the ramp-up for the new S-Class and prepared the company’s plants for the start of C-Class production. Daimler said he is leaving with immediate effect “for personal reasons”. Renschler is being replaced by ...
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Audi plans investment programme of over €20 billion
Germany – The company says its extensive investment programme (between 2014 – 2018), will be directed at new models, innovations and the expansion of its worldwide production network. German sites will benefit with more than half of the planned investment going to the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm sites. At the same ...
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ArticleWilson to lead Williams Advanced Engineering
UK – As managing director, Craig Wilson will have overall operational and delivery responsibility for existing projects within the company, oversee all business development activity and take a strategic lead in the commercialisation of Williams’ Formula One technology for the automotive, motorsport, transport and energy sectors.Wilson previously served as CEO ...
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ArticleAudi teams up with TU Dresden
Germany – The two organisations entered into the strategic partnership “with the goal of making further progress with technical innovations” in areas such as lightweight construction and manufacturing technology. The research will take place at the Technical University of Dresden. As a result of prior co-operation, four doctoral students are ...
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ArticleContinental tyres to be factory-fitted on three VW models
Germany – The Golf 7 will be equipped with 15 and 16-inch ContiEcoContact 5 and ContiPremiumContact, the CC will be fitted with the 17-inch ContiEcoContact 5 and the ContiSportContact 5 and the Beetle will receive the 20-inch ContiSportContact 5. The tyres are premium summer models. Continental manufactures tyres for Volkswagen ...
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ArticleHonda hits North American production records
US – American Honda exported 108,705 Honda and Acura vehicles and imported 88,537 vehicles from Japan in 2013, becoming a net exporter for the first time. The shift was enabled by record production levels in the US and North America (1,309,917 units and 1,781,213 units respectively). Testsuo Iwamura, president and ...
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ArticleFORMAX to open automotive facility
UK – The 50,000ft2 facility will be dedicated to the manufacture of carbon multiaxial fabrics specifically for high-volume automotive applications. The installation of a new Karl Mayer Malitronic carbon line is in progress and the company anticipates that this additional line will be commissioned in March. The opening of the ...
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ArticleAudi plans €20 billion investment programme
Germany – The OEM says its extensive scheme, to run between 2014 and 2018, will be directed at new models, innovations and the expansion of its worldwide production network. German sites will benefit, with more than half of the planned investment going to the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm sites. At the ...
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ArticlePradzinski becomes sales VP for Hyundai Motor America
US – The OEM has given Bob Pradzinski responsibility for National Sales, following the recent promotion of David Zuchowski to the role of president and CEO. Pradzinski is a 25-year veteran of Hyundai. Additional moves within the sales leadership team include: Allan Harriman replacing Pradzinski as director of Sales Operations; ...
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ArticleTata Motors’ Karl Slym dies on trip to Bangkok
Thailand – The managing director apparently fell from a hotel in the capital city, where he was staying in order to attend a regional board meeting. Slym took up his role with Tata in 2012, after stints with Toyota in the UK and General Motors in India and China. He ...
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ArticleDeLuca to lead GM’s manufacturing worldwide
US – As the successor to Tim Lee, who is retiring in April, Jim DeLuca will take the role of executive vice-president of General Motors Global Manufacturing, effective from the beginning of February. DeLuca, a 35-year GM veteran who is currently vice-president of Manufacturing for GM International Operations, will report ...
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ArticleInterview with Mick Horan, Tata Steel
AMS visited Tata Steel's new £3.1m profiling centre at Steelpark, Wolverhampton, UK, to speak to its director of heavy gauge decoiling and plate profilingJoanne Perry (JP): Tata Steel has a number of facilities across the UK and Ireland. What was the objective of the recent investment at Steelpark? Mick Horan ...
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ArticleToyota hits 150m manufacturing total
Japan – The OEM has announced that it reached the milestone for Japanese production in early December. The achievement occurred 78 years and five months after the first Model G1 truck was made at the Automotive Department, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works.The Corolla accounted for the majority of the total vehicles ...
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ArticleRise of 2.3% in UK engine production
UK – Statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that 2,553,316 units were produced in 2013, the highest total since 2008. The growth was driven by a 9.0% increase in output for the domestic market, while exports dropped by 1.7%. ...
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ArticleContiTech buys drive belt maker in Zhejiang
China – Taizhou Fuju Rubber Belt Manufacture has previously focused on producing drive belts for the automotive aftermarket and for industry in general. From spring 2014, ContiTech will also make V-belts and V-ribbed belts for the automotive OEM market at this location.ContiTech will make use of a 33,000m2 production complex ...
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ArticleVolvo lays out its plans for 2014
Sweden – In line with its €11 billion four-year transformation plan, the OEM has said it will introduce new technologies and a series of “industry-leading” innovations, plus the XC90. The XC90 will be the first model built on the company’s new SPA vehicle architecture as well as the first to ...