BUSINESS NEWS
Multi-million pound investment at Wincanton
' Technological first ’ for BMW Group in Swindon
BMW Group has opened a new automated steel pressing facility at the company ’ s Swindon plant . The new press will produce steel panels for the MINI plant in Oxford at twice the rate of old equipment which it replaces , with the steel blanks and finished panels handled by a new fleet of Automatic Guided Vehicles ( AGVs ).
Dr . Milan Nedeljković , BMW Group Board Member for Production , said , “ Plant Swindon now has the latest press-shop technology and is ready to take its performance to the next level , as a vital member of BMW Group ’ s international production network .”
The use of AGVs throughout the process has streamlined logistics considerably , in particular with the use of a giant AGV which can transport up to six tonnes of material . This is a technological first for the BMW Group and will be rolled out in other press shops around the company ’ s global network of manufacturing plant . In total , 23 new AGVs have been commissioned in the new facilities , with more planned over the next few years .
The new press is made up of six individual stations which can produce up to 18 parts per minute – more than twice the capacity of the previous press line . The time taken to swap the pressing tools is significantly reduced too , from at least 30 mins , to a little over three minutes . The pressure which the new press can apply is 2,500 tonnes or equivalent to the weight of 20 blue whales . Dr . Markus Grüneisl , Chief Executive
Officer of both the Swindon plant and the
MINI plant in Oxford said , “ This project is a testament to the expertise and the passion of the team here in Swindon and I couldn ’ t be prouder . We are now sharing the learning from all the new projects at Swindon with our colleagues from the wider production network and so showcasing these new advances at Swindon around the world .”
Chippenham headquartered Wincanton , a leading supply chain partner for UK business , has made a multi-million-pound investment in autonomous mobile robot ( AMR ) technology to accelerate its eCommerce capabilities .
The group is committed to investing in the latest , state-of-the-art automation and robotics technologies to support and service the demands of customers in the eCommerce market .
This new fleet of 48 collaborative robots provides Wincanton with greater flexibility in its operations for customers , enabling it to better manage the fluctuating product volumes associated with high volume eFulfilment work .
James Wroath , Chief Executive Officer , said , “ Wincanton is investing in automation and robotics to increase the agility , resilience and efficiency of our ecommerce customers ’ supply chains . This , in turn , means that our customers can then focus their investment on product development .”
“ The eFulfilment market is a key growth priority for the business . This state-of-theart technology will be a critical part of our success .”
“ Wincanton is investing in automation and robotics to increase the agility , resilience and efficiency of our ecommerce customers ' supply chains .”
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