Monday, April 10, 2017

Faurecia Unveils $64 Million Digital Factory - October 2016






Faurecia  Unveils  $64 Million Digital Factory  that Showcases the Future of Manufacturing

Columbus, Indiana -based  emissions control technologies plant  represents company’s digital transformation.

Auburn Hills, Mich., Oct. 4, 2016  –  Faurecia,  a leading  automotive  supplier,  today unveils  a $64 million  state-of -the art, data-driven  manufacturing  facility  in Columbus, Indiana.  Columbus South,  a 400,000  square-foot  facility,  will employ 450 people  and produce a new, high-tech  emissions control  product  for  the  commercial vehicle industry .

“This facility  represents our entry into  Industry 4.0, a revolutionary  concept  incorporating  connectivity,  automation, data  processing and hardware to advance the  manufacturing  industry,” said Mike Galarno, plant  manager of Columbus South.  “We are proud to be the  first  plant  to incorporate  many of these  leading  technologies  under one roof  to create  efficient  systems and an innovative  working experience for employees.”

With  this facility,  Faurecia is driving  forward  the  company’s digital  transformation  by ushering in technologies  that  are at  the forefront  of  modern-day manufacturing.
“Manufacturing  is sometimes stereotyped  as dirty  and requiring  few  skills,” said Dave DeGraaf,  president  of Faurecia Emissions Control  Technologies  North  America. “Columbus South  contributes  to  the shifting  landscape  of the industry  to one that  is modern, clean and technologically  advanced, and aimed at attracting  a new generation  of employees  with  different  and advanced skillsets.”

The  Columbus South  facility’s  digital  environment  will  feature  a variety of  new technologies,  systems and processes that  reflect  the  improvements of Industry 4.0, including:
  Quality  through  laser scanning and early detection  of variation
  Self -learning  autonomo us  intelligent  vehicles (AIVs) to transport   component   parts to  the assembly line
  Continuous  data  collection,  which enables  employees to predict  and prevent  equipment  failures
  A completely  paperless environment  keeping   employees connected  and informed  with  real time  information
  An open-concept  design  and digital  screens, laptops  and smartphones to encourage  collaboration

In addition  to  these advancements,  Columbus South  will also have a combination  of  collaborative  robots,  or “cobots ,” automated  robotic  vehicles and visual communication  techniques  designed  to foster  real-time  collaboration  and communication.  Collectively,  Columbus South  is expected  to  analyze terabytes  of  data  daily, requiring  a full -time,  on site  mathematician  to  continually  mine data,  cull insights  and forecast  an issue before  it  occurs.
“Columbus South isn’t only about  the product  and the  processes,” DeGraaf  said. “People have been an important part  of the  equation.  Ultimately,  these  advanced technologies,  like the AIVs and cobots,  will  enable  employees to work more efficiently,  experience less physical stress and improve work -life  balance.”

The new plant  will  be an addition  to Faurecia’s existing  presence in Columbus. It  will join  Faurecia’s Gladstone  Plant and Columbus Tech Center,  increasing  the number of employees in the  region  over 2,000.

About Faurecia
Faurecia is one of  the  world's largest  automotive  equipment  suppliers with  global  leadership  positions  in three activities:  Automotive  Seating,  Interior  Syst ems and Emissions Control  Technologies.  Its  strong technology  offer provides automakers with  solutions  for the  cockpit of  the future  and sustainable  mobility.  In 2015,  the  Group posted total  sales of $23 billion  and employed 103,000  people  in 34 countries  at 330 sites  and 30 R&D centers. Faurecia is
listed  on the  NYSE Euronext Paris stock exchange and trades  in the  U.S. over -the -counter  (OTC) market. For more information,  visit  www.faurecia.com.

In North America, Faurecia had sales of  $6.4 billion  in 2015. It  employs more than  20,000 people  at  48 locations  in Canada,  Mexico and the United  States.


Press Release of Faurecia - You can download it from Web.

http://www.faurecia.com/en/news/faurecia-inaugurates-new-digital-plant-south-columbus-indiana-06102016

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