Force Motor has inaugurated its new engine and axle plant at Chakan which is set up with a sole purpose of supplying Mercedes-Benz. The new facility is just a kilometre away from the German automaker’s assembly plant and this arrangement reduces transportation time and cost significantly.
The facility was inaugurated by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis along with Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forests & Climate Change; Frank Deiss, global head, powertrain, Mercedes-Benz; Dr Abhay Firodia, chairman, Force Motors; and Prasan Firodia, managing director, Force Motors.
The new Force Motors engine plant in Chakan will cater to locally assembled Mercedes-Benz products.The facility which is spread over 130,000 square feet is set up with an investment of INR 100 crores. It has 8 assembly lines and will be manufacturing 14 variants of four- and six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines for Mercedes-Benz in addition to axles.
Unlike Force Motor’s Chennai facility (caters to BMW India) which employs automatic conveyor belts to move the engine from one assembly station to the next, the Chakan plant uses trolleys which need to be moved manually. Force Motors says that when the demand for powertrain increases, it would upgrade its new facility with modern equipment.
Force Motors’ facility is only a kilometre away from Mercedes’ Chakan plant.Also read – Mercedes GLC launched in India
Force Motors’s Mercedes-Benz specific engine and axle plant has a current installed capacity of 20,000 engines and as many front and rear axles per annum. This figure matches the annual capacity of the automaker’s Chakan plant.
Via – Autocarpro.in
