Monday 30 November 2015

Wolfsburg comes out on top


This year's Harbour Report praises the press shop at Volkswagen‘s Wolfsburg plant, havingtaken some top positions and proved its outstanding performance.

When it comes to the Harbour Report, issued by US management consultancy Oliver Wyman, many automakers are more than happy to keep quiet about their rankings, often claiming its contents are "confdential" as an excuse for revealing fugures.

 But VW wants to be seen in a good light at the moment, so any ‘good‘ news is good news.

The Habour Report compares and assesses a number of items including the press shops of all the world's key automakers. It also undertakes plant-by-plant assessments. In this study a comparson of "the most productive" automotive manufacturers is produced. The current report compares 124 press shops of 18 different automakers.

Thomas Ulbrich, member of the board of management of the Volkswagen brand responsible for production: "In view of its size and significance in the production of parts for the high-volume models of the Volkswagen brand, the Wolfsburg press shop plays a key role within the Group. The outstanding results obtained in the Harbour Reports confirm the successful development of the Wolfsburg press shop."

Jens Herrmann, Wolfsburg plant manager, said: "Since it was commissioned four years ago, our large-format press has already taken first place in the Harbour Report three times. This result bears witness to the quality and precision of the Wolfsburg plant."

Large-format press line 500 in Hall 1A took first place in the category of transfer XL presses. The Wolfsburg press shop also performed very well in the category of progressive die. Press line 810 in Hall 2 once again took second place.

Markus Lange, manager of the press shop, is equally pleased about the very good performance of the press shop  in fact, he would be disappointed if it wasn’t.

"Once again, our highly motivated team has been a key factor in winning these awards," he said, proudly.

Every day, the Wolfsburg press shop processes some 2,600 metric tons of steel sheet and produces almost half a million body parts. These parts are used for the models Golf, Golf Sportsvan, Touran and Tiguan as well as for the modular transverse toolkit (MQB) platform at 20 other plants. 2,000 people are employed in the Volkswagen Group's largest and oldest press shop






Wednesday 25 November 2015

VW unveils "fix" for 1.6- and 2-litre diesels

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Daimler builds DD5, DD8 in US from 2018


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Tuesday 24 November 2015

JLR to "double" Ingenium engine plant


It is exactly three years since we revealed JaguarLandRover’s (JLR) secret ‘cut and paste’ Hotfire engine manufacturing centre (EMC) in Wolverhampton.

Friday 20 November 2015

VW slashes its capex by €1 billion


Volkswagen Group, in “aligning its investment activity” in its Automotive Division, is capping investments in property, plant and equipment, investment property at €12 billion for 2016 against €13 billion normally.

Thursday 19 November 2015

Daimler shifts V12 engine production

Production will start early next year at Daimler’s Mannheim, Germany, facility of Mercedes-AMG V12 engines.

Wednesday 18 November 2015

More work for Ford's EcoBoost CGI engine


Ford’s 2017 Lincoln MKZ, due to go on sale next summer, will provide further sales scope the V6 gasoline EcoBoost engine.

Tuesday 17 November 2015

Ricardo delivers AWD transmission for rallying

Ricardo claims it has made a return to “very top level of rally-based motorsport” with an ultra- lightweight and highly compact AWD transmission and driveline

Saturday 14 November 2015

Friday 13 November 2015

Ricardo says adapt to protect aftermarket profits

Ricardo suggests automakers pay more attention to servicing the aftermarket, which generates one-third of revenue and one-half of profits.

Wednesday 11 November 2015

F-150 take-rate bolsters SinterCast results

The take-rate of the 2.7 litre V6 gasoline turbocharged engine in America's best-selling vehicle, the Ford F-150, has continued to increase and, for the first half of the 2015, finished at 25 per cent. 

Tuesday 10 November 2015

TRW wins US electric power steering job for UK

Car parts maker TRW plans to create 130 jobs in the North-East of the UK as part of a major investment in the region.

Next 10 days decides VW's future

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Teksid to supply Volvo with engine blocks

Italy-based foundry group Teksid has won a contract to supply Volvo Trucks North America with 4,000 engine blocks a month.

Monday 9 November 2015

Convertible extends Ingenium applications


Land Rover has unveiled the world’s first luxury compact SUV convertible.

Fire risk prompts Cummins NG engine recall


Up to 3,020 Cummins-Westport natural gas engines powering Navistar and Mack trucks in service across North America are being recalled because of a fire risk.

Sunday 8 November 2015

Mazda hints at a new rotary sports car


Is Mazda Motor Corporation about to push its rotary engine back into showrooms? Judging by the RX-Vision sports car concept it unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show, it looks like it is. But when?

Friday 6 November 2015

Teksid set for high volume output of CGI?


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Thursday 5 November 2015

Peterbilt to offer CGI truck diesel

According to US sources, Paccar’s Peterbilt brand will soon offer the MX-11 diesel engine, which debuted in Europe in 2013.

Monday 2 November 2015

Cummins falters as overseas markets slide


Pressure is growing on sales executives at Cummins Inc. to find new customers for the ISV5.0 V8 diesel engine in the wake of the company’s latest sales dip.