Autoneum is expanding its development and production site for tooling in the Czech city of Hnátnice owing to high demand and capacity utilisation.
The precision tools and moulds manufactured in the workshop are the basis for the production of lightweight components for noise and heat protection in vehicles.
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"New forms of mobility such as electromobility, higher standards for driving comfort and safety as well as increasingly tightening regulations, require car manufacturers and suppliers alike to invest in products and correspondingly in modern development and production processes," said a statement from the Swedish supplier.
"Tooling plays an essential role in this context. Tools for the manufacture of vehicle components are crucial for standardised high component quality in series production – a requirement which can only be accomplished with well-founded tooling expertise.
"As one of the first automobile suppliers, Autoneum recognised this challenge 20 years ago and established a development and production centre for tooling in Hnátnice, Czech Republic.
"Today, more than 250 employees manufacture highly complex tool sets tailored to meet customer requirements. From Hnátnice, they are being delivered to all European plants of Autoneum and additional production facilities in the US, Mexico and South Africa."
In order to meet high demand for specialised tools and moulds in the future, Autoneum is expanding its production capacities of the workshop.
From summer next year, injection moulding, bending and foaming tools will be produced on 6,000 square meters.
These tools are customised for the manufacture of carpet systems, inner dashes and heatshields among others. To model and optimise such tools in a cost-efficient way already in pre-development, the supplier adds Industry 4.0 applications are implemented in cooperation with Autoneum's Swiss research centre in Winterthur.
For example, 3D printing techniques are used to facilitate the digitalisation of tools and moulds and the construction of prototypes.
