It was only back in 2013, when Audi invested a couple of hundred million Euros for an all new production facility to be based in Münchsmünster Industrial Park. This 48.2-hectare development is located just 30 kilometres away from their main production facility in Ingolstadt, which gives it extreme proximity and allows for quick reaction to changes in demand.
This facility was developed to cater to future models in Audi’s range, which is not always an easy thing to plan for. When the future is not necessarily known, there has to be room for flexibility- especially when developing something so critical as chassis and structural components.
The Münchsmünster factory currently produces lightweight steel and aluminium components for Audi vehicles, with a mix of pressed steel and aluminium in play. 500 employees work there, operating on a three-shift production schedule. Over the first half of the year, the aluminium foundry operations were a little stunted with (a still impressive) 30,000 components produced, but Audi plans to hit 200,000 components before the end of the 2015.
Also planned for introduction this year is new laser welding technology, which will be put to use this fall. For now, the production facility makes up to 40 different components for various Audi vehicles, including the new Audi A4. The total output of the chassis component plant is slated to be 4.6 million parts by year end.
It’s certainly an impressive development on the part of Audi, and the flexibility of the plant means that there is plenty of room for adjustment in order to properly match supply and demand without wastage of excess.
