Automation – Page 370
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ArticleGetting back on top
Despite natural disasters and an over-valued yen, Toyota managed to finish 2012 as the top selling car maker in the world.Japan’s top six automakers logged record production numbers in 2012, as output rose to meet demand in North America and Southeast Asia. Toyota led the gains, producing 8.74 million vehicles ...
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ArticleRising to a challenge for Honda
Innovations in small car manufacturingSmall cars, big profits Glenn Brooks discovers how a well-timed product launch and strong leadership helped Honda recover from the effects of the 2011 earthquake.On April 8, 2011, Honda’s president and CEO, Takanobu Ito, addressed the company’s associates (employees), promising that the firm would restart operations ...
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ArticleCrossing boundaries at Hannover
Intelligent networked systems, composites and nanotechnology will be among the many new technologies being exhibited at Hannover Messe 2013 from April 8-12The lead theme for the 2013 Hannover Show is one of ‘Integrated Industry,’ with the event structured to reflect the increasing integration of all areas of manufacturing. Central to ...
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Article
Rhim is the president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Europe
Korea – Byung Kwon Rhim has been appointed president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Europe.Mr Rhim previously held the role of president at Hyundai Motor Russia and replaces Tak Uk Im, who is moving to the company’s global headquarters in Korea to become Head of International Operations Division.www.hyundai.com
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Duncan Aldred named Opel/Vauxhall sales vice-president
Germany – Duncan Aldred, 43, has been named acting Opel/ Vauxhall vice-president, Sales, Marketing and Aftersales in addition to his current position, effective immediately.This follows the resignation of Alfred E. Rieck (56), a member of the Opel Management Board responsible for sales, marketing and aftersales.www.opel.com
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ArticleA world of laser innovation
This year’s Laser World of Photonics events – to be held in Shanghai, March 19-21 and Munich, May 13-16 – will showcase technological developments in laser-based productionWith Laser World of Photonics events taking place in China and India, the parent Munich event, now in its second year, will offer an ...
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ArticleBouncing back in Japan
Glenn Brooks discovers how Japan’s automakers have coped with two years of natural disasters, economic difficulties and political turmoilOngoing power restrictions and the costs of rebuilding or abandoning plants after the earthquake hit Japan’s automakers hard in 2011. Then came a steep rise in the value of the Yen until, ...
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Ken Ramirez takes Renault UK director's post
UK – Renault UK has announced the appointment of Ken Ramirez as managing director, succeeding Thierry Sybord who takes up a new role in Europe.Ramirez joins Renault UK from Alliance partner Nissan, where he was managing director of Nissan Latin America and the Caribbean.www.press.renault.co.uk
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GM appoints Jim Glynn as vice-president
USA – General Motors has appointed Jim Glynn as GM North America Labor Relations vice-president.Most recently Glynn was GM North America Manufacturing manager, leading operations at 10 vehicle assembly, powertrain, metal stamping and battery assembly plants.He succeeds Cathy Clegg, who is now Global Manufacturing Engineering vice-president.www.ford.com
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Article
White leads Volkswagen Group Australia
Germany – John P. White, 57, will lead Volkswagen Group Australia as managing director Volkswagen Group and brand director Volkswagen Passenger Cars, effective April 1, 2013.White’s successor as managing director Volkswagen Group Canada and brand director Volkswagen Canada is Maria Stenström, 54, currently Head of VW Passenger Cars sales in ...
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ArticleEnergy as an asset
Energy management has become a key criteria for tier suppliers’ equipment and systemsThe rush to implement renewable energy sources – in the form of solar panels, wind turbines, or co-generation plants – has gone some way to stemming the rising energy costs of auto production, but not far enough. OEMs ...
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ArticleExpending to save
Mark Venables reports on how OEMs are controlling their energy use throughout the manufacturing process using a combination of increased visualisation and energy efficient equipmentOEMs have been trying to reduce the input costs of energy by generating their own through co-generation plants, solar panels and wind turbines. This generation drive ...
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ArticleA changing horizon for GM Holden
Production at Elizabeth into the 2020sDecoding GM’s architecturesGlenn Brooks reports on production of the most advanced Australian-made car yet, soon to roll out at GM Holden’s Elizabeth plant in Adelaide.Holden is one of only seven fully integrated GM global operations that have the ability to design and build vehicles for ...
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ArticleBoosting efficiency at Cummins
Virtual operationCustomer specificationsEnhanced test methodsComponent improvementHeavy-duty diesel automotive engines, “are not overly efficient,” states Mark Firth, executive director of product line management and marketing at Cummins Turbo Technologies. “They convert only about 45% of the energy created when burning the fuel and creating usable power, the rest is lost in ...
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ArticleDrivers of reduction
OEMs have been installing renewable energy sources to reduce energy costs and comply with legislation but the focus is now moving to the manufacturing process itselfPSA Peugeot-Citroën has stated that by 2015 it wants to reduce energy consumption during manufacturing to 2MW per vehicle. GM has also set aggressive targets ...
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ArticleAustralia’s OEM
GM Holden chairman and managing director Mike Devereux, head of GM’s Australian operations, talks to Glen Brooks about future vehicle platforms, the rescue of a key supplier, and overseeing new export programmesAMS: You’ve been chairman and managing director of GM Holden since March 2010, leading the company through a period ...
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ArticleEditor's Note: Reversal of fortune
Over the last few years we have seen the rise and fall of a number of major, seemingly unsinkable vehicle manufacturers, and this picture continues to be redrawn. Like old battleships, although they appeared impressive they proved to be outmoded; too inflexible to adapt quickly enough to major changes. Nautical ...
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ArticleHandling with care
Robots, handling systems and windscreens are superficially the same as they always were, but automotive glass installation today is a very different to even a decade ago.With auto manufacturers controlling manufacturing processes more closely in order to eliminate gaps as much as possible, glass manufacturers too have had to develop ...
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ArticleClear improvements
Malcolm Wheatley discovers that even after more than a century of development, the automotive glassmaking industry is still developing innovative technologiesDevelopments such as water-repellent and heat-reflective glass, in-built sensors, ‘headup displays’, and ultra-violet light-reflective glass are now regularly incorporated into windscreens installed during vehicle assembly. Still the first choiceInnovations for ...
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ArticleSheets ahead
Malcolm Wheatley reports on how advanced production processes have enabled automotive glass to be augmented with added-value technologiesFor the most part, glass alone does not provide the capabilities that a driver most values in a vehicle’s glass components. Instead, from road noise reduction to heat-reflective capabilities, and from built-in antennae ...