will sense it’s not there. ‘OK, we’re all clear.’ Eventually it gets back to the preferred route.” The AIVs are supplied by Swisslog (Buchs, Switzerland), part of the KUKA Group. There is also data collection, computerized tracking of parts and real-time monitoring of production effi ciency and quality. Columbus South is intended to be the blueprint for future Faurecia factories and at least some of its systems will be adapted to existing plants. “There’s risk for doing what we’re doing for sure,” Mark Stidham, president of Faurecia’s North America unit (Auburn Hills, MI), said in an interview at Columbus South. “There had to be a willingness to take that risk and overcome the obstacles that we’re going to have to overcome.”


Management ‘Energy’ At Faurecia, Stidham said, “There was energy with the top management to do something that was taking us to the next level from a manufacturing standpoint. There was energy from within this business group to do it.” “There’s data collection the entire pro- cess,” DeGraaf said. “That data is stored and retained. That way if there ever is an issue out in the fi eld we can go back all the way to the day it was made, the time it was made, the shift it was made and track all the way back to the parameters of the equip- ment and how it was running that day.” Faurecia conducted an open house for the plant early in October. The factory went into production early this year. Columbus was selected as the site for the new opera- tion for several reasons. In 2010, Faurecia acquired Emcon Tech- nologies LLC. Faurecia’s emission control technologies unit, known as FECT, was based in Toledo, OH, while Emcon had an operation in Columbus. Faurecia opted to consolidate in Indiana. Faurecia had another plant as well as a technology center in Columbus. Stidham ran FECT from 2003 to 2015 before he was promoted. Faurecia already did business with Cum- mins, which is also based in Columbus.


Thus, the two had a relationship and Faurecia was selected to supply the emissions control system.


“This plant, the need for capacity in Columbus was abso- lutely based on our proximity to Columbus,” Stidham said. “Cummins is doing the system integration. The partnership is a benchmark for what a partnership should be. We bring manufacturing scale. We build millions of these components in light vehicle applications every year. We bring scale, knowl- edge, technology.”


Customer Base Faurecia’s emission controls group supplies such vehicles as Ford Motor Co.’s Mustang, General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet Colorado pickup and Nissan Motor Co.’s Titan truck. With the project, management of the automotive supplier decided it needed to step up its digital manufacturing. “The products we’re building require very fi nely tuned, welded components that come together in a very precise way,” Stidham said.


Senior Process Engineer Tim Esham analyzes robot activity at Faurecia’


Senior Process Engineer Tim Esham analyzes robot activity at Faurecia’s Columbus South plant.


65 — Motorized Vehicle Manufacturing 2017


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