. PSA Peugeot Citroën and BMW Group present the
Industrial Plan for their Cooperation
Douvrin, France - PSA Peugeot
Citroën and BMW Group presented today the industrial plan for their
cooperation, which is designed to produce a new family of small 4-cylinder
petrol engines that will be used in both partners' vehicles (Peugeot,
Citroën and MINI). The cooperation strengthens high-level manufacturing
expertise in Western Europe industrial facilities both in France and in
the UK.
The main engine parts will be
machined exclusively at PSA Peugeot Citroën's Douvrin plant in Northern
France, with engine assembly divided between each partner's facilities-Douvrin
for PSA Peugeot Citroën and Hams Hall in the UK for MINI-to facilitate
the logistics of supplying each manufacturer's car plants.
The cooperation has required
the deployment of an efficient, flexible organisation tailored to meet the
requirements of managing discrete assembly processes at two geographically
separate production locations.
As part of the project, a
complete production module will be brought on line in late 2005 at the
Française de Mécanique plant in Douvrin. The principle of the module is
based on the development of a highly integrated, independent production
unit that can easily be reproduced on other sites and brings together the
machining lines for the main engine components-cylinder head, crankcase,
crankshaft and connecting rod-and the assembly lines. This efficient
industrial organisation, based on the production of 2,500 units a day,
represents an optimal solution in terms of efficiency and return on
investment
Covering a surface area of
approximately 60,000 square metres, this first module required an
investment of €330 million. It will be able to produce an engine every
26 seconds, regardless of the version. At full capacity, it will be run by
1,120 employees working in four shifts, who will have received 152,000
hours of training.
The Hams Hall plant will
assemble engines for future variants of MINI. Its location near the BMW
Group's Oxford plant will allow for fast, accurate, flexible management of
just-in-time-sequence deliveries, resulting in reduction in stock levels
and delivery times.
PSA Peugeot Citroën's
Charleville and Mulhouse Metallurgy Division plants will also be
integrated into the industrial plan as suppliers of raw castings. A large
number of innovations has been introduced in these plants, including:
The lost foam process for
the cylinder heads.
Pressurized aluminum
casings with cast-iron jackets inserted into the casting.
Steel crankshafts with
unmachined counterweights.
Connecting rods forged
using the double impression method.
Quality management is a high
priority for both partners, which is why the quality of both machined and
purchased parts is managed using standards common to BMW Group and PSA
Peugeot Citroën. The partners are implementing a coordinated process to
support full, real-time transparency between the two engine plants, in
order to deal effectively with any type of quality issue that might arise.
In 2002, PSA Peugeot Citroën
and BMW Group announced their intention to jointly develop and produce a
new range of small, high-technology petrol engines, in high volumes and
cost competitive conditions. The cooperation leverages both partners'
technological expertise as well as their in-depth understanding of large
series production processes. Once at its maximum production capacity, the
overall annual production will reach 1 million units.
