In this year’s issue of the productivity comparison Harbour Report, the press shop at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg plant has once again taken some top positions and proved its outstanding performance.

The Harbour Report, issued by US management consultancy Oliver Wyman, compares and assesses a number of items including the press shops of all the world’s key automakers. On this basis, a comparison of the most productive manufacturers is produced. The current report compares 124 press shops of 18 different automakers.

Thomas Ulbrich, a member of the board of management of the Volkswagen brand responsible for production said: “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 Report confirms the successful development of the press shop.”

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

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 Golf, Golf Sportsvan, Touran and Tiguan as well as for the modular transverse toolkit (MQB) platform at 20 other plants. Approximately 2,000 people are employed in Volkswagen’s largest and oldest press shop.

“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,” said plant manager, Jens Herrmann.