All Middle East and Africa articles – Page 12
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FeatureChina-Europe rail: The road less travelled
The old Silk Road that connected China to Europe rose to significant prominence during the seventh and eighth centuries, when not only was silk moved from China but also spices, paper and noodles across Eurasia. The route has been disrupted and dismantled many times during the last millennium or more, ...
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FeatureDaimler invests €300m in Romania for automatic transmission production
Star Assembly, Daimler’s subsidiary in Romania, has started production of the 9G-Tronic automatic transmission at its facility in Sebes, following a €300m ($341m) investment in the expansion of its production capacity.Components are being fed to the Romanian plant for assembly from Heidelfingen, part of Daimler’s Untertürkheim plant in Germany, the ...
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FeatureFord continues to invest in South Africa
Ford has announced an investment of $170m (R2.5 billion) to expand operations at its Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, South Africa. The OEM will produce the new Ford Everest SUV (pictured) and increase output of the Ford Ranger at the site.Production of the Ranger at the Silverton plant has been ...
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FeatureMaking the most of the Dubai hub
Stefano Pollotti is managing director, Gefco DubaiThanks to its location, its infrastructure and its relative ease of business, it is no surprise Dubai has been hailed so often as the crossroads of East and West, one of the most strategic commercial hubs in the world and an essential traditional ...
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FeatureRussia and Vietnam reach agreement on duty-free exports
Russia’s industry and trade minister Denis Manturov and his counterpart in Vietnam, Vu Huy Hoang, have signed an agreement for the establishment of several assembly lines in Vietnam that will make Russian cars from imported vehicle kits and spare parts.The agreement also involves duty-free supply of cars under this year’s ...
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FeatureAutomotive alarm over prospects for UK steel mills
Tata Steel’s decision to exit the UK – raising the spectre of the country’s steel producing plants shutting down – has set off a number of alarms in the UK automotive sector.Vauxhall, whose parent General Motors has a policy of sourcing products locally where possible and which has increased purchases ...
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FeatureUK commercial vehicle exports up a third
British-built commercial vehicle (CV) exports were up by more than a third in 2015, with around nine in ten destined for EU countries, figures by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows.Of the 94,479 CVs manufactured in Britain in 2015, 47,052 were exported, a rise of 34.7% compared ...
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FeatureRussia and Vietnam reach agreement on duty-free exports
Russia’s industry and trade minister Denis Manturov (right) and his counterpart in Vietnam, Vu Huy Hoang, have signed an agreement for the establishment of several assembly lines in Vietnam that will make Russian cars from imported vehicle kits and spare parts.The agreement also involves duty-free supply of cars under this ...
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FeatureBAIC sends trial consignment via port of Lázaro Cárdenas
Chinese carmaker BAIC has made use of the Mexican port of Lázaro Cárdenas for the first time to import its D20 model cars into the country. A modest 163 units were dispatched from Beijing to dealers in Mexico city via the port in a successful trial last month.The operation took ...
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FeatureUnpacking conventional wisdom
Whether one-way or returnable, owned by OEMs and tier suppliers or rented from specialist providers, current packaging models are being re-evaluated in the search for efficiency and cost-savings. Within the North American manufacturing operations of global automotive supplier Magna International, a fascinating pilot project is underway. After a year-long study ...
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FeatureVolkswagen India boosts output at Pune plant to meet rising demand
[Updated April 1st] Rising demand from export markets and anticipated domestic appetite for the forthcoming Ameo model are behind Volkswagen India’s plans to add a third shift to its plant in Chakan, near Pune (pictured). The move will produce 800 new jobs there.“In 2016, we are expecting growth in our ...
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FeatureRussian carmakers decry Kazakhstan’s customs policy
Russian carmakers say they have been dramatically hit by the utilisation and registration fee on vehicle imports introduced by neighbouring Kazakhstan at the beginning of this year. Alexander Morozov, Russia's deputy minister of industry and tradeThe registration fee for new cars varies between $300-400 per unit, while the utilisation fee, ...
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FeatureGrupo Antolin goes underground for OEMs in Kansas City
Spanish tier one parts supplier Grupo Antolin has leased over 3,000 sq.m of underground storage in Kansas City to improve the inbound supply of parts in the region to customers including Ford and GM.The company supplies headliners for Ford’s F-150 model and Transit vans, made at the Claycomo plant in ...
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FeatureEuropean ports survey: Rising volume and risky conditions
Our 2015 survey finds that, with imports in particular on the rise, some ports have experienced capacity issues despite investments in connectivity, capacity and information technology. Meanwhile, others are suffering as a result of geopolitical and broader economic instability. Contribution by Christopher LudwigAcross the European continent last year, from Scandinavia ...
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FeatureUK-EU: Better connected
In the puzzle of EU membership, Britain and its supply chain would both lose out heavily by leaving the gameBritain’s referendum on EU membership this June has divided the country. Opinion polls suggest a close contest, with splits across the population straight up to the governing Conservative party.At first glance, ...
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FeatureFord part 3: Supply chain upgrades
Ford is rolling out advanced global inventory and demand management tools in pursuit of greater efficiency in logistics and service
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Ford part 2: Global strategies
Ford intends to support dealers through its Professional Service Network, a proliferation of Quick Lane stores and extended parts retention.
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FeatureFord part 1: Always looking ahead
In the first of a four-part feature, Christopher Ludwig talks to Ford Customer Service Division president Frederiek Toney (pictured) about changing times for logistics and providing global customer service
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FeatureBinding ambition at Toyota Manufacturing UK
TMUK is developing its logistics efficiency even more closely in line with the Toyota Production System and proving it can manage complex supply chain changes, writes Ian HenryThe UK is an important manufacturing hub for Toyota within its European operations, and a prime example of how carmakers have tightly integrated ...