Saturday 11th October 2008

Austin Ex-Apprentices Day at HMC Gaydon

On Saturday 11th October 2008,  a group of almost (50) Ex-Apprentices and Guests attended a full-day programme at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon.  Themed around 'Celebrating Austin and Longbridge',  the assembled mass were treated to a series of informative and interesting presentations on 'Saving Longbridge Heritage' and 'The History of Longbridge' as well as been given exclusive 'behind the scenes' Archive Tours of Longbridge artefacts and an 'Austin' themed Museum Tour. 

Particular thanks for attending go to Ivor Vaughan who made it from the Channel Islands to be with us,  but a special 'Thank You' must go to Cameron Mann who spurned the New Zealand sunshine to join us here at Gaydon......and he even brought the sun with him too!

Members and Guests Assemble,  Chairman Tony Osborne delivers his 'History of Longbridge' Presentation

BMW Hams Hall Engine Plant Visit September 10th 2008

Jaguar XF Production Tour 15th May 2008

A factory steeped in tradition and history,  famous for it’s wartime efforts and producing some of the World’s finest and most iconic cars.  Well you can be forgiven for instantly thinking that this is Longbridge,  which of course it could be,  but there’s another car plant just a few miles up the A38 from the ‘Austin’ which can also boast such rich claims,  this is Castle Bromwich,  home of Jaguar Cars.

On Thursday 15th May a group of 40 Ex-Apprentices and Guests arrived at CB for an afternoon factory tour.  People started arriving at around 12:15 for a 13:00 start at the impressive Visitor’s Centre at the Jaguar Plant.  Once assembled the ‘Austineers’ group were shown a brief corporate video of Jaguar,  it’s brand values,  it’s history and that of the factory itself.  The glitzy fast-paced video was ‘bang up-to-date’ with much coverage of the new XF which would feature exclusively in our walking tour.  No sign here of the S-Type which it recently replaced.

Our large group was split into 5 more manageable groups.  Armed with a rather fetching ‘Jaguar’ high visibility vests,  audio receivers for commentary and the mandatory safety glasses,  each group was despatched via Minibus to start their tour at a frequency of every five minutes or so.  Each of the Jaguar Tour Guides (who were impressively turned out) had between them over 200 years service at the Jag!  In a typical year they entertained some 10,000 visitors and today it was our turn.

Ex-Apprentices and Guests mill around at the Visitor's Reception at Castle Bromwich prior to the start of the Tour

The very day of our tour coincided with a Chairman’s briefing to all employees regarding the Tata purchase,  so some of the facilities seen by groups at various times were left idle for a period of time.  Whilst this detracted somewhat from seeing the mechanics of the process it did provide the opportunity to ask questions of the Guide.

During the brief 5 minute ride to the XF BIW building,  our guide pointed out the buildings where almost 12,000 Spitfires and 305 Lancasters were produced during WWII.  In fact the main Gate 1 at Castle Bromwich is just up the road from the ‘Spitfire Island’ a very impressive sculpture and a fitting tribute to mark the efforts of the people and the plant during wartime.

On arrival at the BIW facility our Guide spent a few moments to give us some facts and figures about the factory.  A day and night shift produces approximately 1,200 cars a week with a cycle time of around 3.2 minutes.  Over 4,500 spot welds are applied to the various panels which make up the body utilising 420 robots,  making this facility around 85% automated.

Interestingly the bonnet of the XF is made from aluminium (for weight saving) and a self-contained automated cell gave witness to an impressive array of robots as they swept the bonnets from riveting jigs to sealing jigs to curing stations with effortless efficiency and synchronised grace.

Next on the tour were the body framing lines where the major components of the floor-pan came together for welding.  Unfortunately during our time here the start of the line simply refused to work and our Guide was a little concerned that maintenance crew hadn’t been despatched following 5 minutes of inactivity.  Suffice to say that as we later made our way down the line the welding jigs were heard to lock the panels in place and the robots cranked into action,  diffusing an arcing shower of sparks as the line eventually came to life.  At this stage a computer coded build sequence label is attached to the body which provides details of the specification of the vehicle.  At a later stage of the framing lines the side profile was added together with the roof panel.  Now there was either a standard roof or a ‘moon’ roof,  the later being an Americanism (from Ford) for a sun-roof!  Part of the only manual content in BIW were the inspection and body rectification areas where skilled operator teams first identified any imperfections using  pens on highlighted bodies prior to a later stage where the marked up areas were worked on with skill and precision using linishing tools. 

At various intervals there were laser checking cells which measured the body shells for correctness.  An off-line area was available for the Quality team to pull anything which didn’t conform,  but all bodies we saw made their merry way down the line,  happy in the knowledge that they were all within acceptable tolerance!  A robotic boot lid cell (similar in nature to that of the bonnet assembly viewed earlier) provided this part lineside where it was joined by the doors thus completing the final body shell,  prior to sequencing in the adjacent painted body store.  We did not visit the paint area for XF but were told that (14) colours were currently available on the car ranging from Botanical Green to Porcelain to Radiance to Emerald Fire (so very Jaguar!).

Our next stop was the Trim and Final Building.  Again we were introduced with some new statistics.  45% of all XF production goes Stateside,  with 50% of all XF’s destined for Export to 64 other markets.  All Export cars are despatched via a railhead at CB which saves over 10 million road miles per year.  Jaguar are taking their environmental responsibilities seriously.  By contrast the T&F assembly operated at the opposite technology spectrum to that witnessed in BIW.  Only a single robotic cell was present applying the glue bead to the front and rear screens which was then manually fitted.  All other operations (although aided by mechanical handling assistors) were manual.  The bodies entered T&F minus doors which would be trimmed up and returned later in the process.  The loss of the doors assisted greatly in access for the operators to fit interior part free of the doors being in the way and of course reducing any potential for body damage.  Indeed one of the first operations was to fit protective coverings to the front wings,  such was the focus on quality.  The T&F building was very clean and tidy and lineside material was operated at a minimum due to the sequenced ‘Just-In-Time’ deliveries facilitated by DHL.  Jaguar had clearly embodied all the principles of lean manufacture to create a very efficient end-to-end production process.   Each body had the build sequence tag attached which corresponded to a numbered lineside parts such as carpets,  fascias,  seats,  suspension,  wheels and tyres etc.  Indeed we also watched from outside the T&F building as a lorry containing wheels and tyres (in sequenced pallets) were loaded direct to the conveyor which took them lineside,  arriving at the very station at the right time for the right vehicle.  For those of you who remember CAB 1 operations,  this was a very similar set up,  though the XF line rate of one station every 3.2 minutes appeared slightly pedestrian when compared to the Longbridge rate.  Clearly the XF is a car designed for manufacture.  We watched in awe as a rear painted bumper was fitted flush to the body in less than 20 seconds and a complete headlining ushered into place in equal time but with the same due care and attention.  As we made our way through the building we took a brief diversion to the Powertrain facility where the engine dress lines were full of thumping great engines ranging from a 2.7 V6 Diesel to a 3.0 V6 Petrol to a 4.2 V8 Petrol to a 4.2 V8 Supercharged Petrol (differentiated by a few more miles of tubing and a striking aluminum Supercharger cover!).  The petrol engines were built at Ford Bridgend,  though it was pointed out that they were in fact Jaguar designed.  The diesel unit on the other hand was a Ford and Peugeot Citroen Joint Venture development with this particular unit also being resident in Land Rover vehicles.  These units were delivered from Dagenham.  Further down the line the front axles,  propshaft,  rear differential and rear hubs came together linked to the huge engine – this completing the heart and soul of the car.

As we made our way back to the T&F building we passed a final ‘Customer Buy-Off’ lane between the two buildings,  full of finished vehicles with a test track replete with a small test road including Belgium pave intended to weed out all those unwanted creaks and rattles.  Back in the T&F building the mating of the Powertrain to the main body was first set in place by a jig,  prior to laser measurement checking before an operator made the vital connections.  The partly complete vehicles were now transferred to a floor skid where more parts were added.  Off-line cells producing the completed fascias and door trimmings delivered their goods lineside in time-honoured sequenced fashion.  The interiors took shape with colour combinations of Champagne & Truffle,  Ivory and Oyster and other exotic combinations which were matched to Rick Oak,  Burr Walnut or Satin Walnut veneers,  again all very Jaguar!  Mechanical assistors gave the operators great dexterity when aligning the doors for re-fitment.  A lot of thought had gone into the design and ergonomics of the production line,  none more so that the fitment of the wheels which appeared to arrive,  not only in the correct order but at the correct height and attitude ready for fitment.  Comments were expressed that they could give Ferrari a run for their money in the F1 pit lane!

Saturday 12th April 2008 PoL 3

Take a look below at how 'RCAT' along with the Austin Federation and hundreds of proud owners of Longbridge built cars took to the road to their 'spiritual' home to remember the successes of the past.

Top of Page

Thursday 23rd April 2009 MINI Oxford Tour

It had been about 14 years since I had been to Cowley and much has changed.  As the events of the day unfolded you would never really know that that this place built anything other than current MINI.  No evidence of the original Morris Mini,  the SD1,  Maestro,  Montego,  RV8,  600 or even 75 was apparent.  The whole factory had been rebranded.  The entrance beckons with the words ‘MINI BUILT IN OXFORD’ and if then you still weren’t too sure where you were,  a strategically placed MINI ‘buck’ high on the gantry had the postcode on it’s number plate,  OX4 6NL.  Handy.

The factory actually isn’t the Cowley facility but the old PSF (Pressed Steel Fisher) plant.  Our starting venue for the tour would be the old pattern shop and toolroom (otherwise known as T-Building) which had been transformed  into a Visitor’s Centre come Museum come Exhibition Centre,  decked out with an ‘acid party / rave warehouse’ theme.  We were greeted by two eager old PSF hands,  Terry and John.  With over (100) years of service between them they were our very entertaining hosts for the visit.  Over the following three hours,  they enriched our tour with injections of humour,  fact,  insight and experience which really brought the whole thing to life,  in a way that only anyone who’s worked in the British motor industry since the late 50’s can.

Fellow Ex-Apprentices and Guests

Early Prototypes for the R50 Mini started as early as 1959!

The Millionth Example (April 2007)

Signed by Michael and Natashia Caine ‘not a lot of people know that!’

Top of Page