Brose's UK operation said it was reaping the dividends of new driverless vehicle logistics in its Coventry factory.
The Tier 1 supplier, whcih provides seat structures and window regulators to Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Toyota, spent about GBP2m over the last two years introducing automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that speed up the movement of finished goods and "eliminate any prospect of human error".
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The AGVs are expected to make more than 650,000 different journeys every year on seat production.
Travelling at one metre per second, the AGVs cover 67,000km per year and are used mostly where high volume repetitive material movements are required and where little or no human decision making is needed.
"The automotive sector is extremely demanding and there is a continuous need to produce parts quicker and react to fluctuating patterns in demand – logistics is crucial to us being able to achieve this," said Brose UK managing director Steve Wilkins.
"Coventry was chosen as one of the pilot locations due to the compelling business case we put forward for helping us to win future contracts."
AGVs use laser reflectors for navigation and are programmed by CAD-based software that routes available paths and indicates locations that allow vehicles to pick or deliver a load or return empty containers.
Using the supplier's own transport guidance system, AGVs are able to communicate with each other to ensure materials are moved smoothly through the warehouse, whether they are being stored for future use or sent directly to shipping lanes.
At the same time, they can be programmed to work alongside people on the same production line, depending on where there is a need for capacity, making them extremely flexible.
Wilkins added: "AGVs have little downtime and operate at a fixed rate so it is easier to plan operational activity. In addition, they are computer controlled, which eliminates human errors in terms of damage to the facility, inventory loss and improved pedestrian safety."
Brose operates two plants in Coventry and last year supplied 2m seat structures and 4.6m window regulators for 17 different car models built in 20 factories.
