Volkswagen Using Modular Approach to Clean Factories

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wants to be the world’s cleanest automaker. It is working to clean up its factories as much as it has been cleaning up its cars. Its factory cleanup initiative is called Mach 18 that attempts to clean up all of its factories by 2018. It forces every VW Group factory worldwide to have a plan on reducing resource consumption and emissions. Volkswagen’s head of production Michael Macht is heading up these efforts.

“We cannot just pass on the costs of environmental efficiency to our customers,” said Michael Macht.

The major innovation for Volkswagen’s factories is called MPB and is the factory counterpart to VW’s MQB vehicle platform. It unifies equipment and how production is done across all vehicles using the platform, and it can be installed easily in new and existing factories.

“In the new construction of factories, such as Chattanooga in the U.S., the highest possible ecological requirements were met. In existing factories, we have set up environmental measures with individualized development plans, the so-called migration paths,” said Macht.

For vehicles not using the MQB platform, each of VW Group’s 12 brands have set 2018 objectives for production, quality, technical competence and worker ergonomics.

“We have already identified about 3,000 individual measures and we are going to implement them so we can continue to systematically optimize our facilities,” he said.

Volkswagen is not discussing any factory plans beyond 2018 yet, but it is safe to believe that it will continue to lower factory emissions and material use.

Source: Automotive News Europe