Ferrari Mailing List: 70 engines a day

[mysavard (mysavard]

   Oops! I meant 70 engines a day.
   Michael Savard (1981 308 GTSi)
   ----- Message d'origine -----
   De: Tom Corey <ferrariguy [at] verizon.net>
   Date: Samedi, 18 Juillet 2009, 0:37
   Objet: Re: [Ferrari] I visited THE factory
   À: "mysavard [at] videotron.ca" <mysavard [at] videotron.ca>
   Cc: The FerrariList <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
   > Awesome! I'm sure they must be making more than 70 engines a
   > year
   > though ;)
   >
   > Tom
   >
   > Sent from my iPod
   >
   > On Jul 17, 2009, at 12:12 PM, mysavard [at] videotron.ca wrote:
   >
   > >
   > >   July 15th  will always be a special
   > anniversary for me. This is the
   > >   date I visited THE factory. Below is a long
   > account of my 3 hours
   > > and
   > >   30 minutes visit. They gave us a notebook to write
   > a few notes as
   > > the
   > >   guide was talking and as we listened to the audio.
   > I' m writing this
   > >   as I'm reading my notes. No camera allowed.
   > >   Here it is:
   > >   Don't forget as you read my numbers that the
   > factory has 1 8-hour
   > >   shift. 5h00 pm comes and EVERYBODY leaves at the
   > same time. No
   > > weekend
   > >   shift and plenty of vacations for everybody.
   > >
   > >   14h30 GALLERIA visit: I've been there 5 times now
   > and they ALWAYS
   > > have
   > >   something new. It's worth going in.
   > >   15h15 ENGINE DEPARTMENT: 70 engines a year. 40
   > Maserati and 30
   > >   Ferrari. Lots of plants and trees inside,
   > temperature and humidity
   > > is
   > >   computer controlled. 75 db, is a bit noisy though.
   > 25% V-12 and 75%
   > >   V-8. It takes 35 days to built 1 crankshaft. Place
   > is amazingly
   > > clean.
   > >   Only 70 people work here. Lots and lots of robots
   > and computers.
   > >   15h55 PAINT SHOP: 70 (40 Maseratis, 30 Ferraris)
   > cars a day are
   > >   painted. First by humans to make sure all the
   > little holes and
   > > corners
   > >   are done. Then the car moves forward and robot-
   > arms do their job.
   > > When
   > >   I was there, they were doing a black car (don't
   > remember which
   > > model),
   > >   and the very next one was a red California. They
   > can switch paint
   > > with
   > >   the same robot-arms just like that in a minute.
   > 130 employes. Most
   > >   popular colors are red 45%, black, silver, yellow
   > and right now
   > > white
   > >   is becoming very popular.
   > >   HISTORICAL ASSEMBLY LINE (OLD PRODUCTION LINE):
   > Before you get to
   > > the
   > >   line, on the right they have the engine testing
   > section. Each V-8 is
   > >   tested for 40 minutes and the V-12 for 1 hour,
   > Ferrari and Maserati
   > >   engines. Of course they have modernized it. But
   > it's a very tight
   > >   place. As we walked along the line, it was
   > fantastic to see the
   > >   workers assembling the cars, the real stuff. A V-8
   > car takes 4
   > > days to
   > >   assemble with the line moving forward every 40
   > minutes on 45
   > > stations,
   > >   there is a clock that tells the employes how much
   > time they have
   > > left
   > >   to finish their job.U.S. market is 27%, Italy and
   > Germany 11% each,
   > >   they have 52 markets around the world. Employes
   > might switch jobs
   > >   (stations) 7-8 times a year. So, they don't do the
   > same thing over
   > > and
   > >   over again for a whole year. Each car is tested
   > for 50 km, they have
   > >   10 test drivers.
   > >   UPHOLSTERY-LEATHER DEPT: 60 employes, 12 color
   > options, 75% of work
   > >   made by hand. Mostly women, we actually saw them
   > stitching leather
   > > and
   > >   putting leather on dashboards.
   > >   NEW ASSEMBLY LINE: Absolutely very high-tech. Cars
   > are hung in the
   > > air
   > >   by some sort of a crank and lowered onto work
   > stations that
   > >   adjust themselves so the employes don't have to
   > stretch and bend to
   > >   work. As you walk the line, suddenly the whole
   > floor (red) besides
   > > you
   > >   moves forward every 30 minutes, 50 stations, 15
   > cars a day. 3
   > >   days to complete a car. Containers on wheels are
   > brought to the
   > >   mechanics on the moving floor and when they are
   > empty of parts,
   > >   another one is brought in. 8-hour a day shift.
   > Another section in
   > > the
   > >   same dept. was for the assembling and testing of
   > dashboards.>   AGV Automatic Guided Vehicle: There are
   > lots of them. They are like
   > >   giant inflated mattresses moving around following
   > a laser under the
   > >   floor. So you never see a human actually moving
   > it. They use them to
   > >   put the engine\transmission\driveshaft\4 corners,
   > etc together and
   > >   then that thing moves by itself to go under a car
   > that's waiting on
   > >   the next assembly line. It was 5h00 pm as we
   > finished there, so we
   > > saw
   > >   all the employes leaving at the same time with us.
   > >   RACING DEPARTMENT: We walked through the engine
   > assembly garage. A
   > >   mechanic was actually putting a Formula 1 engine
   > together. First
   > > thing
   > >   I notice they are very small, 2.4 L V-8, 100 kg,
   > 18000, 750hp.
   > > Ferrari
   > >   has around 2,800 employes, F1 alone has 900
   > employes. That's
   > > basically
   > >   900 people for 2 cars. They'll make about 100
   > engines for the year.
   > >   They supply Torro Rosso and Force India.
   > >   Next was the car assembly bays. Felippe Massa's
   > car was there, he
   > > had
   > >   finished 3rd in Germany. It had been dismantle a
   > lot by the
   > > mechanics.
   > >   No wheels, no A-arms, no wings, just the body.
   > Same with Kimi's car.
   > >   It takes about 3 days to assemble one F1. We saw
   > lots of sidepods,
   > >   wings. They'll built 6 to 8 cars in a season and
   > will sell them to
   > >   special clients after the season. At the end I saw
   > a mechanic
   > > working
   > >   on those wheel covers that all F1 teams have now.
   > I finally figured
   > >   how it was made. It was about 10 inches from me.
   > >   17h30 F1 CLIENTI: It's just by the Fiorano track
   > (3km long). Since
   > >   1970, Ferrari has sold about 200 racing cars. Over
   > 60 Formula 1 cars
   > >   were in this garage. Awesome display. There were 3
   > 3-seat Formula 1
   > >   cars. Yes, that's right 3 seats on a F1. Normal
   > position for the
   > >   driver with 2 other seats where the sidepods are,
   > just a bit behind
   > >   the driver on each side. These are owned by Philip
   > Morris and are
   > > used
   > >   ONLY on the Fiorano track for their clients. One
   > F1 had a sticker
   > >   DUBAI STORE. All red, no publicity on it.
   > >   17h45 FXX PROGRAM: There were 13 out of the 29
   > made in that garage.
   > >   Michael Schumacher's #30 was there. I wonder if he
   > paid for it. Now
   > >   they have 860 hp.
   > >   18h00 Finally, we finished at the FERRARI STORE
   > where we all got a
   > > 10%
   > >   discount.
   > >   Ferrari gets about 12,000 visitors a year, they
   > can have 4 groups a
   > >   day sometimes. Very busy between March and July,
   > September to
   > >   November. Owners visit, but also people from their
   > sponsors>   We had a group of 18. I don't know why
   > most people stay in Modena
   > > and
   > >   even as far as Bologna. I've always stayed in
   > Maranello itself.
   > > Plenty
   > >   of good hotels, never had to make a reservation
   > either. Right now
   > > I'm
   > >   in a Best Western Hotel Domus in Piazza Liberta
   > for 52 Euros a day.
   > >   Plus, you live with the locals and all day long
   > you meet real
   > > employes
   > >   from the factory. Plenty of restaurants too. All
   > day long you see
   > >   Ferraris in an endless parade. Don't forget that
   > you also see the
   > > ones
   > >   been tested.
   > >
   > >   Hope you enjoy this long reading!
   > >
   > >   Michael Savard 1981 308 GTSi
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