KUKA delivers 500,000th Jeep Wrangler body to Chrysler
KUKA Toledo Production Operations LLC (KTPO), a US-based KUKA AG manufacturing company, delivered its 500,000th Jeep Wrangler body to its customer Chrysler in August 2010
6 septembre 2010
KTPO is part of a unique partnership between suppliers and an auto manufacturer, the only venture of its kind in North America: the Supplier Park at the Chrysler factory site in Toledo, Ohio. Four years ago, three suppliers launched independent operations here to carry our separate production processes for manufacturing Wranglers. KUKA builds the body-in-white; the remaining suppliers are responsible for operating the paint shop and assembling the chassis. The manufacturer performs final assembly. The KUKA plant in Toledo is staffed by 240 employees and equipped with 245 KUKA robots.
“The KTPO example shows,” according to KUKA AG CEO Dr. Till Reuter, “KUKA's ability on customer request to adopt new methods also in operating manufacturing plants while delivering excellent results. Service is one of the cornerstones of our company philosophy.”
As early as 2008, the Harbour Report of a leading research institute that regularly measures auto industry efficiency in North America, named the Toledo Supplier Park North America's most efficient and productive factory. The institute found that it takes significantly less time to manufacture the Jeep Wrangler than any other vehicle in an assembly plant in the country.