January 10th - Paris - PSA Peugeot Citroen

Boujour!

Today we went to visit PSA Peugeot Citron, a French car manufacturer that's mission is to become a leading car manufacturer and a provider of mobility solutions to enhance customers freedom of movement on a day-to-day basis. PSA Group is present in 160 countries, has 16 production sites around the world, and is the number 2 vehicle manufacturer in Europe.


When we first arrived on cite, we were greeted by our tour guide for the day and all given visitor badges, vests, and protective glasses. The tour started in the first building where the molds are made for the cars. Giant spools of thin metal are used for the frame of the car and are pressed to form the shape. On the cite that we visited, there were 4 pressing machines that were each run by one employee and 89% of the work was done automatically by robots. The sheets of metal that were cut were separated and labeled depending on the car model it was for. If there are any defects during the cutting process, the metal is recycled and used for something else. One very interesting part of their production process was how they use a common base for a number of their cars. This allows them to not have to make sure they are making all different bases, but instead can just produce a lot of the same base and use it for different car models.

The second part of our tour was to the building where they do all the metal work on the cars, including the assembly of the frame and welding. One thing that we learned was the Citron 208 model is assembled completely by machines. We also learned about the types of welding that is done on the cars, laser and traditional. The last part of our tour was to the building where they fully assemble the rest of the car, including the engine, wheels, suspension, and interior. Each car takes 27 hours for it to be made from start to finish. This includes from when the metal is first pressed and all the way till the car is ready to be sold. Overall, this was a very interesting visit because we got to see how the entire production of cars works and how technology is improving the efficiency. In the 1960's, PSA Group had 22,000 employees and they made 2,000 cars a day. Today, PSA Group has 4,000 employees and they make 1,000 cars a day. This shows how as technology continues to advance it makes certain tasks easier to be done.


Comments