February 24, 2006

Two new products introduced into production within one year

Valmet Automotive has started the production of two new products in the Uusikaupunki plant in Finland within the past 18 months. In fall 2004 the company started the production of the second generation Porsche Boxster sports car and in fall 2005 the production of the new Porsche Cayman S.

Both of these new products have been very well received in the market. Their total production volume in Uusikaupunki at the moment is 150 cars/day.

Flexibly on the upswing

The production volume increased rapidly after the decline in 2004. In 2005, 21,233 cars were built, which doubled the volume compared to the previous year. There are now 300 persons more working at the Uusikaupunki plant than the year before. The number of employees is 1,100 persons.

– As a contract manufacturer we are able to act effectively and flexibly also when the production volumes fluctuate, says Mr Tapio Kuisma, the President of Valmet Automotive. In the Porsche production we were able to achieve excellent quality and high delivery precision although both the production volume and the number of new employees increased rapidly at the same time.

The present production rate amounts to an annual production of over 30,000 cars. Naturally, the actual production volume depends on the demand.

Cooperation already in the engineering phase

In the manufacturing engineering of Porsche Boxster and Cayman S the production specialists of Valmet Automotive participated already in an early phase in Porsche's product engineering teams. The production process engineering and investments were carried out simultaneously with the product engineering. The outcome was that the project was successfully completed exactly as planned.

New products quickly and flexibly

Valmet Automotive is able to start the production of new vehicles in record time. In the body manufacturing the flexible automation allows for a welding process tailored exactly according to the specific customer requirements. The modern surface treatment process can be adjusted to different vehicle types and offers a great variety of top coat colors. Also the treatment of aluminum parts is possible. In the assembly shop the high quality and efficiency are guaranteed by the multi-skilled production teams, advanced working methods and state-of-the-art testing equipment.

– Our special strength is the flexible management of the complexity of tailored specialty versions in the efficient serial production, emphasizes Mr Hannu Berger, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing.