Kia reopens Georgia plant following fire
Kia Motors has resumed production at its West Point plant in Georgia, US this week following a shutdown that lasted a week because of fire damage to its one of its parts suppliers.
On 17th March a fire broke out at a facility operated by Daehan Solution, which supplies press parts and headliners to the Kia plant on a just-in-time basis. The supplier is also reported to have resumed production this week.
Kia said the output halt did not affect the delivery of finished vehicles because the plant carries nearly two months of inventory.
Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of Kia Motors America and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, said that the plant's quick resumption of full production after the fire was a testament to this region's teamwork and also its commitment to Kia's success.
More than 250 team members, special experts from the Hyundai Motor Group and responders from KMMG suppliers voluntarily participated all together in the clean-up and recovery efforts.
"To have such a rapid and complete recovery would not have been possible without the strong support received from the State of Georgia, Troup County, Harris County, the City of West Point, the Hyundai Motor Group, suppliers and our team members," said Ahn. "It is remarkable that our production is back online just one week later, and I want to say a heartfelt thank you for the continued and ongoing efforts."
Kia's Georgia plant has an annual capacity of 360,000 units and makes the Sorento CUV and the 2012 Optima mid-size sedan, as well as the Santa Fe SUV for Hyundai.
JCB signs three-year contract with 3t
Construction machinery maker JCB has signed a three-year contract with UK transport management provider 3t for transport operations as part of an initiative to reduce supply chain costs and C02 emissions while improving service and visibility.
3t will manage the outbound transport and delivery of replacement parts from JCB's World Parts Centre in the UK, its European Parts Centre in France and the Czech Parts Centre to dealers across the globe. The company will also deal with carrier selection and fulfilment for distribution of the parts to 16 warehouses across JCB's global network.
The 4PL will be responsible for processing some €12m of transport activity for JCB.
3t has developed a range of services, including its own in-house transport management system, Global Carrier Manager (GCM), providing the management of communications, track and trace, order control and transport optimisation. It will integrate the GCM system with JCB's order management and warehouse management system, as well as its multimodal carrier partners.
Toyota awards Ryder for transport provision
Following its recent supplier award from General Motors, transport and supply chain management provider, Ryder System, been recognised by Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America (TEMA) at its annual supplier business meeting.
Ryder provides Toyota with logistics support that includes pick-up and delivery of service parts to Toyota's service parts logistics network throughout the US, Canada and Mexico.
"We pride ourselves on our high level of operational execution and supply chain expertise built by Ryder over the past eight decades," said Richard Jennings, vice president and general manager of Automotive, Aerospace and Industrials for Ryder Supply Chain Solutions. "Our success would not be possible without the valuable contributions of our diverse suppliers who help us maximize innovation, growth, competitiveness and excellence in customer satisfaction. We are grateful to Toyota for this recognition of our progress with our Supplier Diversity Program and for a relationship that continues to flourish after 23 years."
TVS grows in Europe with Universal Components buyout
Indian automotive components provider TVS Group has bought a 90% controlling stake in Universal Components UK, a wholesale distributor of commercial vehicle parts and accessories. The business was bought for Rs 100 crore, making it one of the company's largest acquisitions outside India, and is part of TVS' development of business between the UK, Europe and Asia.
The latest acquisition follows its acquisition of Multipart Solutions in 2009, one of the UK's top three aftermarket logistics companies, and brings its turnover in Europe to $190m.
Richard Slee, TVS Europe chief executive, said: "We are committed to increase our share of parts business for Britain's intensively used fleet of commercial vehicles and buses and Universal Components fast tracks us up the league table of suppliers. I'm confident that we can make an even bigger impact moving forward."
Universal Components expects to benefit from a wider range of components and low cost sourcing develop business in the commercial vehicles sector. It is one of the growth drivers identified by Universal Components in UK and other parts of Europe.
