PSA Peugeot Citroën, BMW Group present industrial plan for co-operation

PSA Peugeot Citroën and the BMW Group have presented the industrial plan for their co-operation, which is designed to produce a new family of small four-cylinder petrol engines that will be used in both partners' vehicles (Peugeot, Citroën and Mini).

The co-operation strengthens high-level manufacturing expertise in Western Europe industrial facilities both in France and in the UK.

The main engine 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 co-operation 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, the two companies said in a joint statement.

Covering a surface area of approximately 60,000 m2, 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 reductions 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;

¤ pressurised aluminium casings with cast-iron jackets inserted into the casting;

¤ steel crankshafts with unmachined counterweights; and

¤ 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 co-ordinated process to support full, real-time transparency between the two engine plants 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 co-operation 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 one million units.