All Factory Investment articles – Page 12
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ArticleZero waste disposal
Mike Farish reports on the methods being developed to reduce the amount of automotive manufacturing waste being sent to landfill.A previously derelict parking lot in Detroit, Michigan, now bears the name Cadillac Urban Garden, marking the fact that the 250 plant beds it contains are made from redundant shipping crates ...
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ArticleBuilding on a reputation
Asian manufacturers are expanding their range and amount of production in North America, reveals Nick GibbsJapan’s major automakers, famously embedded into the North American manufacturing landscape, are set to become more so. Honda was first to establish itself in the US back back in 1982 when it began building the ...
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ArticleEditor’s Note: Rock and a hard place
Original equipment manufacturers were already getting nervous about part delivery, but since the knock-on effects of the Japanese tsunami and earthquake disaster, and to a lesser extent last year’s volcanic eruption on Iceland, the potential for disruption to the parts supply chain has been brought to the forefront.Specifically, OEMs want ...
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ArticleJoint forces
Fasteners, adhesives, brazing, spot welding, arc welding: lots of choice for body-in-white engineers, but which solutions are winning out?Turn key developmentsNew joining methodsCold joiningSelecting the optimum joining method for body-in-white manufacturing is a delicate task. Considering that, in principle, a car body engineer has only three parameters to combine for ...
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ArticleRenault-Nissan AIMS for automation
As foreign carmakers continue to build new plants in India, the changing balance of low labour cost and automation must be revisited, as evidenced at the new Renault-Nissan plant in ChennaiAMS talked to Marc Nassif and Akira Sakurai about the ‘automation development’ of the Chennai plant and how the carmakers ...
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ArticleEvolution, not revolution
Manufacturing summaryPlant setupProduct and processToyota’s production facility in Valenciennes, France and the influence of the Toyota Production SystemA lot of well-known international companies have their beginnings in humble roots. An example of this is the Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), which you may know started in 1933 as the Toyoda Automatic ...
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ArticleLeipzig gets the X-factor
New press shop for LeipzigAdjusting production processesSetting up the supply chainModel developmentProduction of the X1 crossover has started at BMW’s plant in Leipzig, Germany and that of the 3-Series saloon has halted. Although taking design cues from the X5 SUV, the smaller X1 features an all-new chassis that - in ...
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ArticleNew power delivery
Mild hybridsA different takeBeyond series takeLimited resourcesAny vehicle that has two or more sources for its driving power can be referred to as a ‘hybrid’, but carmakers are employing three general hybrid types. A mild hybrid is a vehicle driven by an internal combustion engine (ICE) that may turn itself ...
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ArticleMaking light work of heavy equipment
Adapting to current economic conditionsFacility investment to improve efficiencyFarm and construction equipment innovationsDeveloping the product rangeJCB launches first in-house diesel engineGuarding against excessive complexityLessons for carmakersAs carmakers search for solutions to help steer them through tough economic conditions, there are lessons from recent innovations by agricultural and construction equipment manufacturersIt’s ...
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ArticleBuy, use, sell, re-use
In with the oldWaste not, want notBeware of the red tapeAdapting existing equipmentEnergy performance certificatesWhether it’s best to buy new equipment, refurbish existing, sell or lease depends on economic and accounting considerations and, increasingly, environmental influences and legislationsThere was a time when all production managers considered just one thing when ...
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ArticleRunning a three legged race at GM
GM’s Conveyors, Controls, Robotics & Welding group has implemented a common conveyor strategy with benefits for modules engineering and integrationGlobal standardisationRewards out of the boxDigital efficienciesGetting one’s bearingsExpanding bundleDuring the AMS 2004 AutoMan Global conference in Dearborn, Michigan, GM’s Phillip Disch, General Motors’ Executive Director of Controls, Conveyors, Robotics and ...
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ArticleFollow the bear
Major investment is now being made in the Russian automotive industry and the region looks set to become a force to contend with. But companies are still showing caution Why Russia now?Domestic marketNew plans for AvtoVAZGAZ has global ambitionsFord’s ‘early-mover’ investmentAvtoVAZ joint ventureHyundai-Kia importsNew venturesPlants for St PetersburgChinese gaining presenceTata ...