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Delphi Shows Off Precision Injection Molding Center
By Dan O'BrienVIENNA, Ohio -- The last time Gov. Bob Taft visited the site that became Delphi Corp.'s most advanced plastics injection molding center -- nearly three years ago -- a mixture of cold rain, mud and snow greeted the throng of dignitaries who broke ground.Wednesday morning, the governor, Delphi employees, labor representatives, managers and local officials were greeted with warm sunshine as they basked in the success of a new $58 million center Delphi says serves as a benchmark for the industry. "This state-of-the art manufacturing facility in Vienna confirms what we all know," Taft said, "that Ohio is the best location to grow a business and serve the North American marketplace."Jim Spencer, president of Delphi Packard Electric Corp., the Warren-based subsidiary that runs the new molding operations, told guests that the new plant is an example of what can be accomplished "with advanced manufacturing and an outstanding work force."The Vienna plant is the second phase of the corporation's ambitious efforts to compete in the growing connections systems market, Spencer added. The first phase, he noted was completed three years ago when Delphi completed a new molding center in Cortland. "The connection business is a growing market, and Delphi is the largest connector supplier to the North American Auto industry," he said. "This plant allows us to go beyond Cortland. It clearly strengthens our capability and competitiveness in connection systems."The new plant supplies connectors to not only the automotive industry but the electronics and mechatronics markets as well, Spencer said. "Every business makes value decisions, and this is one of them. We can compete -- we want to focus on the things we do well," he said.To meet growing global demand, the new plant features innovations and a visible commitment to "world-class quality and delivery," says Kevin Heigel, business line executive for Delphi Connection Systems. The latest technologies are matched with an experienced and well trained work force to deliver continuous production of 1.4 billion parts annually more than 100 customers worldwide.Delphi Connection Systems, a business line within Delphi Packard, further strengthens its global leadership in the design and manufacture of interconnect products for automotive as well as non-automotive applications. Taking the best practices of its nearby plant in Cortland, a molding operation that itself rewrote the benchmark standard upon its production debut four years ago, the new world-class facility here has emerged as Delphi Connection Systems' most agile, flexible and responsive molding operation, Heigel said."We are strengthening that dominant global position with world-class operations like Vienna, which has redefined the benchmark for quality and on-time delivery while providing outstanding value for our customers with unparalleled flexibility and agility," he stated.The Vienna injection-molding facility took the information-technology and manufacturing strategies of the landmark Cortland facility and significantly raised levels of quality, delivery and throughput, Spencer added. Its equipment, operating system, human-machine interface and automation work in harmony for energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. At the heart of the operation are 120 high-tech production electric presses (and four test and development presses), with molding capacities that range from 55 to 165 tons, reported John Sefcik, director of U.S. operations.Unlike standard hydraulic presses, these advanced molding machines require less energy, eliminate the need for special cooling and substantially reduce maintenance costs. They provide increased flexibility, accuracy, consistency and accelerated cycle times to meet customer demands, Sefcik said. "The Vienna facility is the first injection-molding plant of this magnitude to have all electric machines," he said. As a result, the Vienna plant's utility costs are 40% less than those at Cortland. Also, the Vienna plant can process three different types of basic resins -- nylon, polypropylene and polyester -- while the Cortland plant manufactures parts only from nylon. The resin is supplied from a Delphi plant in Rootstown and other vendors. The resin is mixed and then fed through a network of hundreds of tubes suspended from the plant's ceiling and delivered directly to each press. All machine operators and support personnel are always connected to real-time information on orders, equipment performance, shipping schedules, material and parts inventory, and quality issues. Tooling is close at hand for quick changeovers, and employees are subjected to rigorous training to ensure excellence.The Vienna plant ships 55% to 60% of its parts directly to customers, eliminating the need for warehousing and storage, Sefcik added. While the machines and men and women of Delphi's Vienna facility are the heart and soul of the operation, the e manufacturing systems and fail-safe material-handling innovations are the lifeblood, Heigel noted. With ever changing customer requirements and increasingly different resin compounds, lean manufacturing was a special challenge. Key information technology breakthroughs ensure real-time monitoring of order entries, material needs, tooling changeovers, production runs and direct-ship labeling. Microsoft.NET for Manufacturing is the software/service platform used.Material is transported throughout the plant via 11 golf cart size robots called Automated Guided Vehicles, or AGVs. The AGVs are guided by 7,000 magnets embedded in the plant floor and are programmed to pick up trays of plastic parts from each press and deliver them to a materials handling section that prepares each order for shipping. Thus, delivery times are reduced considerably."Cortland was our model, and we fine-tuned that model beyond expectation," said Rachel Heidenreich, North America business line director for Delphi Connection Systems. "The right things are happening in manufacturing to make the right things happen for our customers and Delphi Connection Systems in the marketplace. Vienna marries an unsurpassed process expertise with an unwavering commitment to world-class quality and delivery."Delphi Connection Systems is North America's largest supplier of interconnect products for the automotive industry. The company also designs and manufactures advanced interconnect components that are used in computer and peripheral, telecom, broadcast, semiconductor, commercial aviation, medical and military markets.Contact Dan O'Brien at [email protected] "