New MINI and the MINI production triangle

Press Release

Page 1 - Overview
Page 2 - Flexible and efficient
Page 3 - Plant Hams Hall
Page 4 - Plant Oxford
Page 5 - Plant Swindon
Page 6 - Associates
Page 7 - Sustainable Production
Page 8 - Community involvement
Page 9 - History
Page 10 - Contribution to UK

Flexible and efficient

MINI now has its “Home of Production� in three plants. The production facilities at Hams Hall, Oxford and Swindon jointly produce MINI with increased capacity, flexibility and efficiency. The Hams Hall plant produces the new MINI petrol engines, Plant Oxford remains responsible for the body shell production, paint and assembly and Plant Swindon produces pressings and sub-assemblies.

The BMW Group has invested a total of almost £200 million in the production triangle for the production of the new MINI. The maximum production capacity for MINI will therefore increase from its previous level of 200,000 up to 240,000 units annually in the medium term. Since the start of the series production of MINI in 2001, worldwide demand has constantly surpassed the production capacity of the plant. The double-digit production increases achieved by means of production improvements have been exceeded every year by the increasing market demand. More than 850,000 built-to-order MINIs have rolled off the assembly line at the Oxford plant to date (September 2006).

At the start of series production about 6,350 associates will produce MINI across the three plants, 750 in Hams Hall, 4,500 in Oxford and 1,100 in Swindon. To achieve the maximum production capacity of 240,000 units, the BMW Group will create up to 450 additional jobs at the Hams Hall and Oxford plants over the medium term and increase the number of associates to a total of 6,800 in the MINI production triangle.

Efficient expansion and utilisation of existing production and logistics structures in addition to the use of the very latest production technology has been a priority in the investments made at all three plants for production of the new MINI. Only a small percentage was invested in the construction of new production buildings.

The wide range of options is one of the keys to the international success of MINI – meaning each customer can specify their own individual MINI. All production and logistics processes are directed towards this high degree of personalisation in line with the customer’s wishes. MINI production benefits from the “Customer Oriented Sales and Production Process�, (KOVP) of the BMW Group, which optimises the entire process chain from the vehicle order up to the delivery of the car. A major benefit is that the customer’s requests for changing the colour, engine or accessories can be taken into account up to seven days prior to the start of assembly.

Sophisticated logistics are an essential basis for KOVP. The close proximity of the three MINI production triangle plants provides optimum conditions for this. This means that all pressings and sub-assemblies are delivered directly to the body shop in Oxford just-in-time from the Swindon plant located about 40 miles away and without intermediate storage. This can be done within four hours of releasing the parts order by data transmission to ensure that the optimum quantity of required components is available for the body shell production without unnecessary buffer stock.

The engines are delivered just-in-sequence and directly to the production in Oxford from the Hams Hall plant located approximately 70 miles away.

Through its use of working time and shift models, the MINI production triangle works with a high degree of flexibility in responding to market demand ensuring optimum utilisation of the production plants. The Oxford plant introduced its flexible working time models as far back as 2001 at the production launch of MINI, following the philosophy of the BMW Group production network. The Oxford plant currently manufacturers across three shifts, seven days per week. The length of the individual shifts can be adjusted flexibly to market demand within a range of 25 percent.

In order that the three plants respond together to changes in demand and to customer requirements, flexible working and complementary working patterns have been implemented across the three plants with up to seven day working and up to 140 hours production time per week.

The extension of the supplier network for vehicle components is an important element in the structure of the MINI production triangle. Besides the BMW Group, numerous suppliers of vehicle components have invested in the production of the new MINI in the UK. For example, the three suppliers for the front end, cockpit and seat modules of the MINI have set up operations within a distance of just one hour’s drive from the Oxford plant and, with a total of more than £40 million investment, have created about 750 new jobs. The delivery of these key components takes place via the just-in-sequence logistics concept. The Oxford plant transmits the exact sequence of the MINI production planning to its suppliers seven days prior to assembly. They produce the modules in accordance with the customer order and deliver them to the assembly hall exactly in time to meet the correct car.

About 60 percent of the components of the new MINI come from suppliers based in the UK compared to just 40 percent for the predecessor model.