VW selects LMT for Chinese Tool

2009-6-27 14:13:06

LMT has won a prestigious contract to provide a full tool management operation at the Volkswagen Group’s latest state-of-the-art automatic transmission production facility, which is about to go on-line at a new plant in China. The company has contracted to supply some 700 items of tooling.

The DQ200 dual-clutch transmission, which VW has developed to create seamless power delivery with barely noticeable gear changes, is due to enter production in September. In fulfilling its end of the contract, LMT will take full responsibility for setting up the tool management system and for providing procurement logistics, tool-usage and stock monitoring, and tool ordering and supply. The contract also covers non–LMT Group products, such as those used in honing, and also requires the provision of equipment for regrinding and refurbishing tools.

Volkswagen Transmission (Shanghai) has provided LMT with a 550-m² tooling hall at the production facility. This will be run by a German expatriate and 12 Chinese colleagues, who will be responsible for the entire tool management operation while providing VW management with fully transparent access so that it can monitor the support process in line with production demand.

In addition, LMT is charged with ensuring that each machine operator in the production plant has ready access to the particular tools any process requires.