Factory expansion – Page 12
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ArticleIncreased Magna-tude
A veteran of manufacturing in Mexico, Magna has started production at a new exteriors plant in QuerétaroOne of the latest additions to the roster of tier-one supplier facilities serving Mexico’s automotive OEM community, the new Magna Exteriors plant in Querétaro, central Mexico, started operations in July of this year. The ...
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ArticleInterview: Fidel Otake, GKN
GKN Driveline has had a manufacturing presence in Mexico since the 1970s and has grown strongly in recent years. The company's operations director for the country discusses its new propshaft facility in GuanajuatoJoanne Perry (JP): GKN Driveline has many facilities around the world but relatively few in the Americas. Is ...
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ArticleMazda: Growing in Guanajuato
AMS gives an update on the OEM's recently opened plant at Salamanca, Mexico – its first in North AmericaIn January 2014, Mazda joined the flood of vehicle-makers arriving in Mexico by opening a new plant in Salamanca, Guanajuato – its first independent production site in North America. The idea behind ...
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ArticleNissan heads in a new direction
The OEM has been manufacturing vehicles in Mexico since 1966 but the new COMPAS collaboration with Daimler will add premium cars to the line-up by next year. AMS went to check on the progress so farThe rush among carmakers to set up a manufacturing base in Mexico will see no ...
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ArticleKia's brave new world
The South Korean OEM has just opened a state-of-the-art factory at Pesquería in Mexico, but political problems are preventing this first Latin American manufacturing base from reaching its full potentialA sun-scorched hilltop in Monterrey provides the perfect view of Kia Motors’ first Latin American factory: a gleaming white press shop, ...
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BAIC breaks ground at Port Elizabeth
An artist's impression of BAIC's Coega plantSouth Africa – The brand new factory, located at the Coega Industrial Development Zone near Port Elizabeth, will cover 85,000 sq.m and will have capacity to make 100,000 vehicles per year. The new development is expected to create around 2,500 jobs. Four BAIC ...
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ArticleSkid-free flexibility
With the energy savings it brings, the skidless paintshop is proving to be a popular ideaThere are some real heavyweights on the move inside automotive manufacturers’ production facilities: 200kg skids transfer 300kg vehicle bodies from the bodyshop to pretreatment, and on through the entire paintshop. Over 1,200 conveyor components and ...
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ArticleTravel blog: The final frontier with Kia in Pesquería
And for my next mission... Mars! Or Monterrey in Nuevo León, which is similarly arid but uncomfortably hotter. At least I have the benefit of oxygen as I journey to Kia's new factory at Pesquería. I'd heard that Kia had been experiencing problems (Houston!) with this development, but as I ...
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ArticleEditor's note: The eye of the beholder
The allure of a gleaming surface has always been irresistible to the human eye. While technological complexity and model diversity are increasing to a bewildering degree, the external appearance of a vehicle remains an obvious deciding factor for most buyers. As a result, OEMs and their paint providers are coming ...
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Influential India
India’s automotive component sector is relishing its new place on the international stageChanges in the Indian component sector have prompted growth in the role of its companies worldwide in recent years. Likewise, European, Japanese and American suppliers have moved into India. Until around a decade ago, the Indian automotive components ...
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ArticleInfluential India
India’s automotive component sector is relishing its new place on the international stageChanges in the Indian component sector have prompted growth in the role of its companies worldwide in recent years. Likewise, European, Japanese and American suppliers have moved into India. Until around a decade ago, the Indian automotive components ...
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ArticleUK auto industry in fighting form before EU vote
With the referendum on EU membership fast approaching, the UK’s automotive industry gathered at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham for the first AutoMechanika show outside Germany. At the accompanying open forum for its members, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders was in buoyant mood, announcing that its supply ...
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ArticleBMW breaks ground at San Luis Potosí
Mexico – Once construction is complete, the plant in the north-central state will make BMW 3 Series sedans, with capacity for 150,000 units per year. Production is expected to begin in 2019.The new factory will have a bodyshop, paintshop and assembly hall, and represents an investment of $1 billion. Its ...
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ArticleJLR opens factory at Itatiaia
Brazil – The plant in Rio de Janeiro State is Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) first wholly owned plant outside the UK and the first production centre opened by a UK automotive group in Latin America. The company invested 750m reais ($215.7m) in the factory and associated Education Business Partnership Centre.“Land ...
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ArticleVoith prepares to open wheel/tyre plant
UK – The facility in Coventry will be inaugurated in September, replacing a 30-year-old operation nearby. The new factory is intended to supply premium brands such as Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) as well as high-volume manufacturers such Vauxhall.“Our new plant covering 150,000sq.ft is over 50% bigger, and the investment in ...
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Rings around the world
Like its premium brand competitors Audi is now establishing a global manufacturing networkThe geographic expansion of Volkswagen’s vehicle production beyond Germany, into Mexico, China, Spain, India, Brazil and South Africa, is now well-established. Meanwhile, parallel expansion at Audi is, with the exception of China, a much more recent phenomenon.Despite the ...
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ArticleHonda opens Prachinburi plant
Thailand – The new factory at Rojana Industrial Park, Prachinburi province, represents an investment of 17.15 billion bahts ($48.3m) and features the latest Honda production technology, including the Assembly Revolution Cell (ARC) concept. The plant will strengthen the role of Honda Automobile Thailand within the company’s worldwide network.“Thailand has increased ...
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ArticleRings around the world
Like its premium-brand competitors, Audi is now in the process of building a global manufacturing networkThe geographic expansion of Volkswagen’s vehicle production beyond Germany, into Mexico, China, Spain, India, Brazil and South Africa, is now well-established. Meanwhile, parallel expansion at Audi is, with the exception of China, a much more ...
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Toyota opens Porto Feliz engine plant
Brazil – The new factory in São Paulo State represents an investment of 18 billion yen ($170m) and is the OEM’s first engine manufacturing facility in Latin America. Built on 872,500 sq.m of land, it has a capacity of 108,000 engines per year and a workforce of 320 individuals.Porto Feliz ...
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ArticleGKN starts production at Villagran
Mexico – Built at a cost of $17.5m, the 12,000 sq.m facility in the central state of Guanajuato will support both local and global demand for all-wheel drive vehicles. The plant is now making a new type of propshaft, the GKN VLi, which its maker claims is fast to assemble ...