Roland Vardanega, Member of the Managing Board and Executive Vice President, Manufacturing and Components of PSA Peugeot Citroën, has inaugurated the extension of the mechanical compact gearbox production unit at the Valenciennes plant in France’s Nord Pas de Calais region.
The ceremony, which was attended by local and regional officials, also provided an opportunity to celebrate the manufacture of the 30 millionth gearbox produced at the Valenciennes site since its opening in 1981.
The extension adds 7,000 square metres to the production unit, which already comprised some 42,000 square meters of existing buildings. Requiring an investment of EUR83m, the extension will become operational in February 2010 and production capacity will then increase from 1,750 to 2,625 units a day.
Specialised in the manufacture of gearboxes, the Valenciennes plant currently employs 2,250 people.
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Four types of gearbox are produced on the site, two of which were launched within the past three years:
- the five-speed manually operated BE gearbox launched in 1981;
- the AL4 automatic gearbox introduced in 1997;
- the six-speed MCP automated gearbox introduced in 2006, which reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 3% to 5% resulting from optimised electronic control of the clutch and gear shifting;
- the mechanical compact manual gearbox launched in late 2007 and derived from the MCP gearbox. It also helps to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 5% depending on adaptations.
