Inplant logistics – Page 10
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Bosch and MAN win VDA award
Robert Bosch and MAN Truck & Bus have been announced as dual winners of this year’s VDA Logistics Award, with digital logistics solutions in intra-logistics and empty container scheduling, respectively. It is the first time the award has been shared between two companies. The award, from two of the country’s ...
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Mercedes automates tool selection for CLS
Mercedes-Benz has begun using an automated system to provide operation-specific screwdrivers to workers assembling the new, third-generation CLS at its Sindelfingen plant in Germany.The move is designed to provide staff with optimal support by supplying tools automatically along with the right order data and process parameters for the assigned vehicle, ...
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Automation: Paving the way for progress
Ask automotive manufacturers what their primary concerns are today within warehouses and factories and they will probably allude to one of three key things – productivity, safety and waste. Although various solutions are available to help alleviate problems in these areas, one of the most important is materials handling technology. ...
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Disaster recovery: Prepared for the worst?
As the scale of the destruction wrought by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated Japan’s north-eastern coastline in March 2011 became apparent, managers within BMW’s purchasing function were asked if it would affect the company. Their answer? No – because BMW had no suppliers in Japan.But that wasn’t quite ...
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Volkswagen appoints Thomas Ulbrich as head of new e-mobility division
Thomas Ulbrich (pictured), currently management board member for production and logistics at Volkswagen, is to take charge of e-mobility at the German carmaker.From February 1st , Ulbrich will head a newly created division covering the e-mobility series and production of vehicles on the group’s new modular electric drive kit (MEB) ...
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Vauxhall to cut a further 250 jobs as it moves to a single shift at Ellesmere Port
Vauxhall Motors has announced it is making a further 250 redundancies at its Ellesmere Port plant in the UK, following a meeting it held on January 4th with union Unite.The latest announcement comes on top of the 400 redundancies announced in October last year, at which point the carmaker also ...
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Seat builds tallest warehouse in Spain to support Martorell assembly
Spanish carmaker Seat has revealed it is building an automated logistics centre at its Martorell factory outside Barcelona that will include the tallest warehouse in Spain. The facility is expected to be completed by the last quarter of next year.The logistics centre will cover a total area of 5,700 sq.m ...
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Volkswagen earmarks €22.8 billion for modular and electric vehicle future
Volkswagen has announced a major €22.8 billion ($26.7 billion) investment programme in its plants around the world to prepare them for modular production and for an electric vehicle offensive in the coming years.The main focus will be on Germany, which will account for investments totalling €14 billion. A big part ...
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Seat looks to digital supply chain and connected cars with Telefónica deal
Spanish telecommunications provider Telefónica is to become an IT supplier to carmaker Seat, following an agreement signed in the first week of November designed to develop connected car technology, as well as digitalise the supply chain and manufacturing process.Among the aims of the agreement is the application of 5G connectivity ...
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BMW tracking: Prevention is better than a cure
Few manufacturing operations have expanded as much over the past two decades as BMW’s Plant Spartanburg in Greer, South Carolina. After producing 411,000 X-series SUV models in 2016, it is now the carmaker’s largest global facility by assembly volume, and is headed towards its maximum capacity of 450,000 units per year, including the launch this year of the new X3.
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Plugged in for progress
Evolution of CCS charging technology for e-cars towards 350 kW" width="500" height="500">The last two decades have seen the emergence of the alternative propulsion vehicle market from almost nothing. According to PwC Autofacts data, sales in 1997 across all hybrid and electric vehicles numbered about 6,000 vehicles. This year, the ...
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Getrag scores a hat-trick at Magna Logistics awards
Transmission system supplier Getrag has received three World Class Logistics awards for innovative supply chain projects. The awards were made by Magna Logistics Europe, a division of Getrag’s parent company Magna International, and were announced at the annual Magna Logistics Days in the second week of October.Getrag’s Supply Chain Management ...
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Latest Ford reshuffle puts Drake at helm of global purchasing
Lisa Drake (pictured) will replace Birgit Behrendt from January 1st as head of global powertrain purchasing and global purchasing operations at Ford, as part of a number of executive changes announced by the carmaker this week.Drake will be responsible for all powertrain purchasing operations worldwide, as well as global operational ...
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Honda UK increases output thanks to Daifuku process improvements
Materials handling company Daifuku says it has helped Honda achieve a 30% increase in output at its Swindon plant in the UK through enhancements to the existing logistics processes at the facility.Completed during a series of shutdown periods over the past six months, Daifuku was tasked with increasing daily production ...
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Tesla delays truck launch to focus on fixing Model 3 bottlenecks
Tesla has delayed the unveiling event for its electric truck by about three weeks as management diverts resources to address bottlenecks in the manufacturing of its Model 3 vehicle, as well as to increase battery production for storm hit Puerto Rico.This is according to a Tweet last Friday, by the ...
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An aftermarket network rebuilt for rapid response at BMW
An interview with Wolfgang Baumann, vice-president of parts logistics management and responsible for the global supply of service parts for the BMW Group
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Mercedes-Benz to invest $1bn in the US for EV production and logistics
Mercedes-Benz has announced that most of the $1 billion it plans to invest in the US to expand its industrial footprint is slated for the future production of electric vehicles, alongside an expansion of its logistics activities in the country.The company plans to produce SUV models under its electric vehicle ...
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Top level changes at Nissan North America
John Martin (pictured) is moving from his role at Nissan North America as senior vice president of manufacturing, supply chain management and purchasing to take up a new role as executive vice president, Alliance Manufacturing Engineering and Supply Chain Management at Renault-Nissan Alliance.From the beginning of October Martin will oversee ...
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Work starts on Goodyear’s new automated tyre facility in Luxembourg
Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company has announced plans to invest $77m in a highly automated facility in Luxembourg.The proprietary production process, named Mercury, being used at the facility will include interconnected workstations that use additive manufacturing to produce on-demand small batches of premium tyres.“Mercury addresses the increasing complexity in the ...
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EDI to facilitate ever more sophisticated sequencing
While few OEM plants run totally ‘make to order’, it is becoming more common that each successive vehicle build on an assembly line will be different. This requires the delivery of parts to line side in an exact order, planned in ‘time buckets’ of as little as four, or even ...