The €1bn Kia Motors production plant in Slovakia is a remarkable place. It is the reason why Kia can give a seven-year warranty with the Cee’d.
Building at the Zilina plant began in 2004. In December 2006 it became one of 14 operational plants that Kia has dotted around the globe. Built specifically to cater for the European market the plant is located about two hours drive outside Slovakia’s capital Bratislava.
The Korean company, which has been in business since 1944, is now in possession of perhaps the most impressive production facility in the world. Housed inside the various spotless buildings is a skilled workforce in colour coded uniforms, but we are not alone!
Apart from the human workforce there is an army of ultra impressive and quiet robots working away.
Automation is nothing new in manufacturing; remember the Fiat Ritmo TV adverts from the 80’s? Wow, robots that could weld body panels! Ok, ignoring the fact that the Ritmo was a poor car, Fiat pointed the way and Kia has refined the process to an art form.
Ironically, the 310 plus robots on involved in the production of the Cee’d, Pro-Cee’d, Cee’d Estate and Sportage come from a rival in the Irish market, namely Kia’s sister company Hyundai (Hyundai-Kia Automotive). Hyundai does not offer a seven year warranty.
Far from being the usual deafening process I didn’t need ear defenders on my inspection visit as the production line isn’t chain driven. The cars in their various stage of manufacture simply move with quiet efficiency.
I followed the production process from where rolls of steel come in at one end of the plant just like the massive rolls of paper used to produce newspapers, to where the finished cars were driven off the line to await dispatch.
At the ‘Press Shop’ moulds are used to help form the metal into the various body panels (60 different types) and then stored using a massive overhead electric monorail. Anyone who has seen the kids movie ‘Monsters Inc.’ would recognise a similarity to the door storage set up. Computers check each panel for defects using a complex 3D system.
At the ‘Body Shop’ welding takes place as the various cars become more recognisable. Here up to 310 robots do all the work.
Unlike many productions lines that will do a run of a one type of vehicle at a time the Zilina plant can run up to eight different models on the same line and in any order. The ‘Paint Shop’ was off limits to non staff and in a way I was glad not to have to walk the 7.5 kilometres of the paint line where the cars are prepped, painted and buffed.
The Paint Shop is cleaner than most operating theatres as the atmosphere has to be dust free. Kia makes it own engines in the ‘Engine Shop’ (1.4, 1.6 petrol & 1.6 & 2 litre diesel). A number of feeder buildings deliver other components in varying stages of assembly directly in to the line. Finally at the ‘Assembly Shop’ teams of inspectors check the fine detail.
The whole process is kept under the watchful eye of the main control room. To say it is a high tech operation would be an understatement - NASA watch your back!
Michael Sheridan
