Trucks ‘Made in India’ – Planning one of the world’s largest truck production plants
Dürr Consulting took on the planning for a new
1.2 million sq.m. factory for TATA.
At Lucknow in India industrial giant TATA is constructing a large volume truck production plant. The site is located approximately 500 km south east of the megacity of Delhi. Dürr Consulting was given responsibility for planning the complete factory including all buildings and facilities.
The Lucknow truck factory is a greenfield project and construction of the paint and assembly shops has already begun. Production is due to start in the spring of this year and, when the final phase of the project is completed, 520 units will roll off four identically designed assembly lines each day. At that stage light, mid weight and heavy trucks will be produced simultaneously at Lucknow.
The customer ordered “Development of a master plan for the new production program and of an appropriate supply concept” – but behind this concise phrasing lay the construction of new production facilities covering an area of no less than 1.2 million square meters. Over an eight month planning period Dürr Consulting completed not only a comprehensive study of the factory site but also prepared a detailed value mapping analysis. Amongst other things this analysis examined the demands that would be made of internal and external material flow processes – a major factor as the positioning of supply points and supplier integration areas significantly influences the flexibility of production. In the future a smooth flow of materials will be assured through an in-house logistics center on the factory premises and by a modern supply park with potential for expansion. During the first stage of development, the area designated for future expansion of production facilities will initially be used for logistics purposes. As production is increased in successive stages until full capacity of 520 units per day is reached, it will be possible to set up a purpose built logistics center tailored to the specific requirements of the factory. Designing the assembly lines on an identical basis will ensure a long term ability to adjust production capacity flexibly to suit changing market demands.
In carrying out the task of developing a concept for TATA’s complex high volume factory the industrial economists and engineers working together on the Dürr planning team were able to draw on the extensive expertise that has been built up over a period of many years: to date Dürr Consulting has completed more than 1,500 projects for a wide range of branches of industry and specializes in handling complex and long term projects.
The planning team will continue to provide coordination and supervision support throughout the present construction phase until this reaches completion in the first half of 2008. Production of 320 trucks daily is foreseen by the end of 2009 and completion of the final stage of construction is planned for the second half of 2010.
Your contact:
Joachim Schäfer - joachim.schaefer(at)durr.com