the new c4 picasso from citroen a great challenge for grupo … · 2013. 12. 3. · new picasso (c4...

December 2005 · nº 44

The new C4 Picasso from Citroen

A great challenge forGrupo Antolin Vigo

2005 DrawingContest

Importance of plasticand its use as a surface finish

news grupo antolin · december 20052

page. 3 in first person

page. 4 cover A new company is born in Vigo

page. 6 designing the future Importance of plastic and its use as a surface finish

page. 8 special feature DOES Commercial Convention

page. 10 christmas special A trip through Christmas

page. 14 the photo The festive spirit!

page. 19 in brief News in brief

page. 23 health Sleep disorders

page. 24 the history corner Seat

page. 26 en route Vigo

NEWS Published by Grupo Antolin

Grupo Antolín is an international company at the cutting edge of design and production ofcomponents for car interiors for theautomobile industry..Present in 20 countries, it has aworkforce of more than 10,200employees.

EDITORGrupo AntolinHuman Resources DepartmentCarretera Madrid Irún, km. 244,8E 09007 BURGOS - SPAINTel. 34 947 47 77 00Fax: 34 947 47 79 48www.grupoantolin.com

MANAGEMENTDepartment of Human Resources Eva Romero· [email protected]

DESIGNGermán Delgado· [email protected]

PHOTOGRAPHYRafa Sáiz

PRINTED BYCOIMANC/ Marqués de Portugalete, 16E 28027 MADRID - ESPAÑATel. 34 91 742 12 03Fax: 34 91 742 67 81 Summary

december 2005 · news grupo antolin 3

2005 is a year that has been marked by instability and even crisis, as felt by the big companies in our sector, including

those that have both leading and auxiliary roles, as a result of their ever diminishing returns, which has even left some

of them insolvent. This has led such companies to implant strategies that are essentially short-term in perspective and

in most cases are not yielding the results hoped for but instead are sending significant shockwaves through the market.

Our Group is not unaffected by these problems and in this respect first and foremost we should set out to maintain our

approach resolutely on a medium and long-term basis, using the immediate future, inasmuch as this is possible, to extract

the positive and dynamic effects from the crisis, as is always the case in times of difficulty.

It is imperative that both leading industries and also those in peripheral sectors in the western world should reflect deeply

on what our weaknesses are so as to assess our sources of improvement.

Regardless of the presence of new actors that place their products on western markets on the basis of their competitive

labour costs, there are others, such as those located in Japan, that do not base their success on the competitive nature

of labour costs but rather on the perfect organisation of their work, on the quality of their products and, in short, on the

professional nature of their activities.

What can and should companies such as our own do when our presence is basically to be found in mature markets? The

answer seems quite clear to me: take advantage of the superior skills of all the men and women in our workforce that

have greater experience than those from countries that have recently entered the sector, and should therefore be more

efficient in their activities.

2006 is going to be a period in which the Group will pay special attention to solving problems concerning quality with such

an extremely negative impact on our results. We should be aware of the fact that increasing the quality of our products is

a great opportunity for enhancing their real margin of improvement.

The potential savings to be had from pushing our products to the limit of their specifications will lead to problems with an

excessive amount of material being rejected and eventually to significant warranty costs. The market is becoming more and

more demanding and warranty costs are noticeably on the rise. The need to stage campaigns to recall vehicles to solve

problems involving quality assurance is something that is becoming more and more common and expected by the mar-

ket. Their repercussions on our costs are rising and above all the risk factor that can sometimes even throw the feasibility

of a business in jeopardy is becoming more and more apparent.

There is no doubt that there is plenty of scope for action in our industries regarding intrinsic improvement in the quality

of our products and processes. While we now state our quality ratios for delivery in millionths, internally we still talk about

rejection figures measured in terms of hundredths.

Achieving customer objectives in terms of PPM is brought about to a large extent by establishing powerful control barriers

prior to delivery of the product. This is a formula that glosses over our inefficiency and incurs great expense, which should

be eliminated by taking the proper action during the phases prior to such delivery. Without wishing to sound utopian,

shouldn't we set ourselves our own internal objectives concerning rejection right now, at least in terms of thousandths in

our own production lines?

If the theoretical exercises we all carry out during the planning stage for the purposes of predicting potential flaws in our

products were more reliable and were conducted in closer collaboration with our customers and suppliers, would we have

to make alterations at the last minute and even during the production or mass production stages as we do now? What is

the real cost of all these inefficiencies? Can we allow ourselves such inefficiencies in our mature markets? The answer is

obviously NO. I am convinced that if we are capable of conveying to each and every one of the people forming part of the

Group the significance of their unswerving commitment to improving quality, it will not be difficult for us to put on a bright

face to confront the challenges of such complex situations as the one currently being experienced by the car industry.

I would like to take this opportunity to pass on my sincerest wishes to all those forming part of GRUPO ANTOLIN that you

will all enjoy the coming festivities, along with my gratitude for the efforts made and the enthusiasm and commitment

with which we have all taken on and will continue to take on the important challenges in our professional lives together,

defending the strength and soundness of our business project.

José Antolín Chairman

...in

firs

t per

son

COVER

A new company

is born in…

Grupo Antolin Vigo is now up and running. It started its activities in mid-July, manufacturing theinitial items prior to mass production for the B58 project. This new plant belonging to the Group islocated on the new Valladares technological and logistic estate in Vigo.



This new project emerges with GrupoAntolin being awarded the contractin 2003 for the back seats of the B58

(2nd and 3rd row), which will become thenew Picasso (C4 Picasso), a vehicle thatwill be made by Grupo PSA at its plantin Vigo. Although Grupo Antolin alreadyhas extensive experience working withthese seats, this is the first time that wewill be supplying this type of product toPeugeot Citroen, and therefore we con-sider it to be a challenge in terms of qual-ity and satisfaction for our client.

The vehicle will have three individual con-cealable seats in the second row (5 and 7-seater model) and two individual seats thatcan also be concealed in the third row (7-seater model only).

With respect to the functionality of the seat,attention is drawn to the possibility of com-bining movements of the cushion and back-rest using a single control (thanks to a spe-cific reclining mechanism that is the onlyone of its kind on the market, and was de-veloped entirely by Grupo Antolin), capableof being folded so as to leave the floor com-pletely flat inside the vehicle, and light-weight thanks to its magnesium backrest.

At the Vigo plant the second and third rowwill be produced at full rate, to come outin 2007 with an output of around 4,000seats/day.

Production for the B587 series 7-seatermodel) is expected to commence duringthe first quarter of 2006, and for the B585

(5-seater model) during the third quarterof 2006. The plant is capable of manu-facturing 5,200 seats a day in a tight se-quence.

The B58 project has entailed a total invest-ment of 22 million euros. The 23,000 m2

surface has 10,000 m2 devoted to produc-tion and around 1,400 m2 set aside foroffice space.

On behalf of Grupo Antolin Vigo wewould like to thank all the staff at GrupoAntolin Engineering, Grupo Antolin INSand Grupo Antolin Ardasa, without whomthis project would not have been possible.We would also like to thank Grupo AntolinPGA for making us welcome in Galicia andfor their collaboration in the final phase.

Grupo Antolin Vigo

JIT Synchro

Delivery of R2+R3 seatsDummy Truck (24 Palettes)

M2 Line Frequency of Delivery: 28 minutes

2 Trucks + 1 Reserve trailer

JIT Synchro

Delivery ofR1+R2+R3 seats to PSA

Return of Empty Palettes

Return of Empty Palettes

Faurecia

PSA Peugeot Citroën

Work on theinstallations beganin March 2005, andwas completed inNovember of thesame year.

LOGISTIC FLOWCHART


DESIGNING THE FUTURE

Importanceof plastic

DIM - DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

I n association with the general improve-ment in the quality of the product thereis a trend that has emerged for new

concepts such as “Perceived Quality”,which is the synthesis of a series of hap-tic sensations that are perceived by the pas-senger with respect to sight, touch, smell,noise, vibrations, design, ergonomics, etc.

Within the context of all these factorsthere is an important role to be playedby the materials, since these should be ca-pable of conveying various different sen-sations (warmth, smoothness, softness,harmony in colour, etc.).

In this improvement process, the materi-als for the car interior have come a longway. The use of plastic has gradually in-creased as opposed to the use of metal-lic products, due to the trend for a con-stant search for vehicles that are less con-taminating, safer, more streamlined, more

comfortable and lighter in weight. Anoth-er main factor for developing the plasticparts is the need to use re-cycled or re-cyclable materials. This huge expansion ofthe use of plastic, which is expected toincrease over the coming years, has comeabout due to its technical developmentand the large number of applications thatare possible.

Amongst such applications attention isdrawn to the use of extremely lightweighttransparent plastics for use as an alter-native to glass in large-scale three-dimen-sional glazing, such as side, back and roofwindows, due amongst other reasons tosuch factors as their lighter weight, betteroptic quality and the possibility of ob-taining profiles that are impossible to fash-ion in glass.

Nowadays we can find plastic parts withdifferent types of surface, such as painted,

chrome-plated, printed, coated, texturedor soft-touch, which add sophisticatedsensations and are an important factor forthe attractive design of the interior as awhole and also for the look sought after.

There are various innovative technolo-gies that have come on to the market nowfor decoration, amongst which one of themost notable is In-Mould Decoration,which enables high-quality decorative fin-ishes to be obtained for injection parts forvarious different types of finish.

Amongst the operating procedures forthis type of technology, there are twomain ones that can be singled out: F.I.M.(Film in Mould), which entails placing adecorative film inside a mould, subse-quently injecting the plastic material ata later stage, thereby obtaining the deco-rated piece. As an alternative to the pre-vious process, there is I.M.D. (Insert

The car interior has become a defining factor and visualtrademark for new models. Users spend more and more time insidetheir vehicle; hence they are in contact with its environment,materials, finishes, functions,...

and its use for finished surfaces


Moulding Decoration), which offers solu-tions for parts with deeper and more pro-nounced shapes than the other mould,and includes the following stages: prepa-ration of the film using serigraphy andlamination processes, and thermoform-ing to obtain an insert. This can then beplaced in the mould at a later stage for the

subsequent injection of the plastic, whichis totally adhered to the insert, thereby ob-taining the decorated item.

Cubic Printing is another type of deco-ration technology using a film with a spe-cial treatment with a watery base, withthe part being decorated using a trans-

fer during immersion, thus making it pos-sible to decorate very complicatedshapes.

One of the most recent technologies is In-Mould Graining, which is a process forcoating large surfaces where a smoothfoam (TPO) will not acquire the texture un-til the compression phase, and thereforethe pattern is maintained even on edgesand spokes.

We should take notice of the great im-portance that plastic is acquiring in thecar industry, and of its aesthetic treatmentsand processes to guarantee the degrees ofquality demanded by clients and end users.

Innovation in products and processes fortreating plastic surfaces is becoming a trueally of quality, both from a technical view-point and also with regard to perception bythe end user.ción por el usuario final.

Distribution of plastic applications in vehicles

11%

22%

47%20%

Interior

Exterior

Electric equipment

Engine zone


SPECIAL FEATURE

ommercial onvention

DOESC

On 27th October 2005, the DOESBusiness Convention (Dirección deOperaciones Europa Sudamérica,

or Operations Management for Europeand South America) held at the Main Of-fice of Grupo Antolin in Burgos, was used,amongst other purposes, to present thisnew organisation.

Damián Gordo, the current Manager ofDOES, was responsible for opening thecongress. During his intervention, he setout the current circumstances of the mar-ket for the car industry in Europe and thecorresponding trading situation of GrupoAntolin. On presenting the results up tothe end of September attention wasdrawn to the challenges we face and the

possible opportunities the market has tooffer both on a short and long-term basis.

Furthermore, the business objectives wereunveiled as agreed on in the current strate-gic plan both by the Group and also withregard to the various customer accounts.Emphasis was placed on the 10% annu-al rate of sustainable growth for GrupoAntolin, with attention being drawn to theimportant marketing strategy that needsto be developed as soon as possible.

The convention proceeded with the in-tervention of Mª Hélène Antolin, Manager-ess of DEOM (Dirección Estratégica de Op-eraciones de Mejora, or Strategic Manage-ment of Operations for Improvement),

“We must encourage team work in ourapplication of the new organisation”

José Manuel Temiño

With the new organization of Grupo Antolin launched during 2005, the DOES saw big changes inits organization.

Damián Gordo


who presented the business channelsmaintained between each customer ac-count and Operations for Improvement.She took advantage of the visit to Burgosof Thomas E. Isaacs Jr, Head of Delta proj-ects, North America, to stress the quality ofthe achievements reached in the USA andher interest in their application in Europe.Pablo Baroja, Manager of DOAAP, (Direc-ción de Operaciones África, Asia, Pacífi-co, or Operations Management for Africa,Asia, and the Pacific) spoke about theGroup's presence in his territory and of theimportance of the new emerging mar-kets that are enabling our multinationalcompany to broaden its horizons. He drewattention to our presence in China, a mar-ket in which many European customers areseeking a newly expanding market.

Francisco Cervera and Antonio Quereda,representing the Departments of Headlin-ers and Door Products respectively, set outtheir new methods of operation and cor-responding charts of organisation.

They informed all the sales representativesof their hopes and expectations regardingthe approach to work for the future. Fortheir part, Roch Thaller and JeanDuchateau, besides presenting the organ-isation of the Department of Seat Prod-ucts, also wished to demonstrate theGroup's knowledge of this product tothe audience and expressed their desire tojoin in introducing it to our clients.

Fernando Rey, Manager of DIM (Depart-ment of Innovation and Marketing), setout the innovations and challenges wagedby the Group to find new materials andtechnologies that will give a boost to theaspects of quality and the future appear-ance of our products.

He also wanted to insist on the fact thatwe must anticipate the procedure forthe application for tenders so as to in-troduce the clients to our newest ideas,which will add greatest value to ourproducts.

However, the main objective of this Con-vention was fulfilled in the afternoon,when all the participants sat down inmultidisciplinary and multicultural work-teams to establish a list of specific actionsdesigned to improve our business per-formance based on the main themes ofCommunication, Strategy, Incentives,Value, Know-how, Suppliers andSales Management.

The Convention was brought to a spectac-ular finish by our Chief Executive, JoséManuel Temiño, who closed the eventby commenting on the activities speci-fied and inviting the participants to imple-ment all the conclusions that had beenreached.

We must encourage teamwork in our ap-plication of the new organisation andlaunch the Customer Committees as soonas possible, since these are the properplace to work out strategies with each cus-tomer on a long-term basis.

“workteams to establish a list of specific actions designedto improve our business performance based on the mainthemes of Communication, Strategy, Incentives, Value,Know-how, Suppliers and Sales Management”


christmas special • christmas special • christmas special • christmas special • christma


christmas special • christmas special • christmas special • christmas special • christmas

Christmas is not always synonymous with champagne and Christmas carols. It is cele-brated in a different way in each part of the world because, in spite of originally beinga Christian tradition, very few places can resist going mad with the decorations, lavish

meals, presents and social gatherings that are so common during these festivities. Asians area good example. In China, homes are lit up with bright paper lanterns and trees decked withflowers, paper chains and lights. The young children hang up synthetic muslin stockings sothat their own version of Santa Claus, called Dun che Lao Ren, can leave them some toys.

For their part, the Japanese, in a style that is the most westernised in the whole of Asia,rush headlong into compulsive shopping, roast turkey, preferably stuffed, and even Ch-ristmas carols, without forgetting the children's tradition of being nice to Father Christ-mas so he will bring them the presents they've asked for. They rush to settle their ac-counts, clean their homes and belongings, and even renew their wardrobe, as a symbolof the start of a new year: the Omisoka (Great Last Day of the Year). At the other extre-me, we have Thailand, where less than 1% of the population celebrates Christmas withtypical seasonal decorations or squanders money on presents.

The Muslims, for instance, celebrate Ramadan; in Hong Kong they celebrate the Ta Chiuand in India, they honour Lakshmi, Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity in the Hindu festivity ofDiwali. Also, 25th December is a national holiday in India, and the 20 million Christians or so that

Sound of tambourines, Christmas trees full of decorations, chocolates and candies,lights, children singing carols and asking for charity…

There is no doubt about it: It's Christmas time!There are thousands of places to enjoy the happiest holidays of the year.

A trip through

Christmas

Foto

©A

lber

to R

odri

go

live in the country celebrate Christmas according to western tradi-tion. New Year, however, is celebrated according to the Hindu lu-nar calendar, on 20th April, with big bonfires and ritual bathing.

In Iran, the former Persia and the place where the “Wise Men”come from, they celebrate Christmas with a dinner, with boiledchicken or harasa as the main dish. Although there is not normallyany exchange of presents, the children receive new clothes to we-ar for the party.

Now we come to Eastern Europe, where there are no lack of Ch-ristmas rituals. In the Czech Republic, Saint Nicolas, known as Sa-bih Mikalas, descends from the sky using a golden rope, accompa-nied by an angel and a devil.

Would you like to make a kapustnica this Christmas? Christmashas arrived in Slovakia! A Christmas decoration already festoonsthe top of the large windows of the buildings and houses of thou-sands of Slovaks. The Christmas street markets line the streets andsquares in the centre of the capital and provincial towns. You canfeel the cold and wintry wet weather that plays counterpoint tothe warm, soft aroma coming from the walnuts and chestnuts.

It is evident that one of the best things about these days is eating. Andif you have weight problems, this Christmas is not going to be easy.Argentina celebrates the birth of Jesus with family barbecues andgrills. Without mentioning New Year's Eve with the 12 grapes in Spain.It does not matter where you are or who you are with on New Ye-ar's Eve, for the Spaniards, the most important thing is to manageto eat the 12 grapes in time with the 12 strokes of the clock that bringin the New Year. Tradition says that whoever completes the processwithout choking will be lucky throughout the next 12 months.

The same thing is believed in Portugal…where there are hun-dreds of different Christmas celebrations, though the one thingthat is never missing in a Portuguese Christmas is fire, which symbol-ises the victory of light over darkness.

And for charme, the French Christmas. Good meals with turkey,Bûche de Noël (a very sweet Yule log), plenty of champagne and duckor goose foie gras; burning candles, and sprigs of holly …to honourthe tradition of kissing whoever is beneath the mistletoe. But not allthe regions of France celebrate Christmas in the same way. In Alsa-ce and Lorraine, German traditions are still very much ingrained, whe-reas in the south traditions are quite Mediterranean in style.

Germany is the country that, according to legend, saw the begin-nings of the Christmas tree some time in the 8th Century and, of cour-se, the decorated fir trees prevail in every square and home in everytown throughout the month of December. During these festivities,the houses are decorated with sprigs of red berries, moss and pain-ted nuts, and tables are piled high with roast goose stuffed withapples, roast pork, peas, fish, baked apples, punch and rum. SaintSylvester takes centre stage on the last day of the year. There is alot of drinking and lighting of firework castles in his honour to sca-re away the evil spirits.

Ancient traditions and modern customs come together each year forChristmas in Great Britain. Mistletoe, stockings hanging up atthe mantelpiece, Christmas cards, Boxing Day, Christmas crackers -bangers that make a lot of noise, or the Christmas tree form partof the family festivities with a British touch.

In the United States the combination of so many people fromdifferent cultures has created a very special mix of traditions that

christmas special • christmas special • christmas special • christmas special • christmas special • christmas special •


can be seen all over the country. If you are a shopaholic, the indis-criminate search for the really perfect gift can take you to NewYork, where you can spend everything right down to your last pennyin its Shopping Week. During these days the Christmas lights are tur-ned on, as they are in many other parts of the world, with the tra-ditional lighting up of the Rockefeller Center Tree, a fir tree, 20metres high and half a century old, that marks the beginning ofChristmas. However, talking about trees, the one our friends in Bra-zil can enjoy this year is 82 metres high and weighs 450 tons and has2.8 million lights and 35,000 metres of shining garlands. On New Ye-ar's Eve in Brazil the sky over the beaches of Ipanema and Copaca-bana is lit up with fireworks while the filhas do santo (African pries-tesses) light candles and send small boats full of presents and flowersout to sea. If the tide carries them away, it is a good omen becauseit means that Yemanjá, Goddess of the Seas, will give her blessing forthe new year.

The Christmas festivities in Mexico start in mid-December withthe Posadas, when the Mariachis walk through the streets knoc-king on the doors to ask for shelter. On Christmas Eve, the traditio-nal meal is “los guajalotes” or turkey, as the music sounds. In ahouse selected from a draw it is normal to break open a piñata, abig party bag full of almond-shape pieces of sugarcane.

It is a fact and not a myth that Saint Nicolas lived and was bu-ried in Turkey. The custom of giving presents without expecting

anything in return developed from his example of good will andcharity. For the Turks Christmas day is important, but there areother celebrations that are more important for them like Rama-dan, the day after the sacrifice and the one after New Year'sDay when all the family meets up with neighbours and friendsto eat turkey, lots of sweets, salads, drink and watch the BigLottery Prize.

Can you imagine spending Christmas swimming in the sea?As Christmas coincides with Summer holidays in South Afri-ca, many people spend Christmas Day at the beach, in the parks,woods or outdoors to enjoy the climate. There is not just one tra-dition but many ways to celebrate, depending on each ethnicgroup. The Christmas festivities are traditionally celebratedwith family and friends coming together to share a meal andspend the day in good company with the traditional exchangeof presents for Saint Nicolas amongst those that have beengood throughout the year. And this all takes place in front of theSouth African Christmas Tree, which is becoming more andmore popular, and is made of wire and decorated with Africansymbols, little figures of Zulu toys and several ornaments ma-de with “debel” beads.

What about you?

How do you celebrate Christmas?

christmas special • christmas special • christmas special • christmas special • christmas special



THE PHOTO

On 25th November, the 2005 Painting Competitionawards were held at the Group's Headquarters in Burgos

The festive spirit!2005 Drawing Contest

As we have just reported inthe centre-page spread, the2005 Drawing Contestawards took place on 25thNovember. This year, as usual,the children's participationwas superb, more than 200turned up and this made us allenjoy the party even more.

We had something to eat, wewatched a film and presentswere given out to every com-petition participant and win-ner. In addition, the childrenhad fun with some veryfriendly clowns. Below youcan see some pictures of thehighlights of the party.


Let's eat!

2005 DrawingContest


...just look at all the pictures...

...and finally, the photograph. Smile!

...the decorations...


Grupo Antolin-Japan Yoshiharu Ashikaga 5 years old

Grupo Antolin-South Africa Annah Alexander 11 years old

Grupo Antolin-Silao Saira Judith Mosqueda 11 years old

Intertrim Tayná Ozorio 7 years old

GrupoAntolin-Dapsa Paula Martínez 7 years old

1st prize

3nd prize

3nd Prize

Special prize

2nd prize

2nd Prize

Grupo Antolin-Ingeniería Lorena de Bustos 11 years old1st Prize

...here are the winners...

Grupo Antolin-North America Mauricio Vermeulen

8 years old


Newinstallationsfor GrupoAntolinPGA

Since September Grupo An-tolin PGA has started to trans-fer its activities to some new in-stallations located in the vicin-ity of Porriño.

Only a few kilometres from theoriginal installations of thecompany, located in Gondo-mar, the transfer to the new lo-cation is a decisive step to-wards the future for Grupo An-tolin PGA. The new factory ispart of the Industrial Estate ofAs Gándaras (Porriño), sur-rounded by a large number ofbusinesses in the same sectorand with important means ofcommunication, just twentykilometres away from Vigo andfrom their main client, PSA.

The growth of Grupo AntolinPGA over the last few yearshas made it necessary to usea single plant covering thewhole production process. Itshould not be forgotten thatthe company's operationswere distributed over variouswarehouses, which, while be-ing close to one another, re-quired greater effort with re-spect to internal transport,workers and infrastructure.

Bringing the activities togeth-er in a single plant located inone of the most important in-dustrial areas in Vigo will makeit possible for the company todevelop its activities in a moreefficient and orderly fashion.

We should remember thatGrupo Antolin PGA stream-lines, embosses, welds andpaints metal parts for such cus-tomers as PSA and Renault, inaddition to firms that form partof the Group itself. Althoughthe final process involving thetransfer is expected for the endof this year, 90% of it is now al-most complete.

In spite of the inconvenienc-es inherent in this type of up-heaval, output has not suf-fered, and we have been ableto satisfy each and every oneof our commitments with allour clients. The efforts of thecompany are now focussed oncompleting the installationwork, the transfer of machin-ery and recovering our normalrate of productivity.

At the new plant, apart fromcurrent output, in 2006 we ex-pect to commence productionof important products for thenew Citroen Picasso, the newRenault Twingo, and the re-placement vehicles for the Peu-geot 206 and Citroen C5.

As we have been reporting inprevious bulletins, Six Sigmacontinues its development atGrupo Antolin. This time wehave witnessed the launching ofa new Wave of Business BlackBelts and Green Belts, who willswell the ranks of the long listof people involved in the Six Sig-ma Initiative.

On this occasion, each partic-ipant will be trained in DMAIC(*) Methodology and will then

go on to carry out Six SigmaProjects or other types of activ-ities for improvement. Theseare all key elements of thisStrategic Initiative and havethe purpose of making surethat our tools for improvementare suitably applied in a sys-tematic and rigorous fashion.

(*) DMAIC - This is used to en-hance existing processes,products, services and tech-nologies.

Six Sigma Roll-out of4th wave of BusinessBlack Belts andGreen Belts

First row (from left to right)…

Stanislav Urban(GB DMAIC): G.A. Bratislava

Cristina Sánchez(GB DMAIC): D.E.O.M.

Raúl Martín (GB DMAIC): D.E.O.M.

Ozcan Aladinli (BB): Ototrim

Ridvan Nerez (GB DMAIC): Ototrim

Reginaldo de França(BB): Iramec

Susana Portillo (GB DMAIC): D.E.O.M.

Second row (from left toright)…

Jorge de la Torre(GB DMAIC): D.E.O.M.

Fernando Hernández(BB) : G.A. Plasbur

Alberto Navarro(BB): G.A. Dapsa

Álvaro Miguel (BB): G.A. Dapsa

Mark Miller (BB): G.A. Kent (JIT Solihull)

Adriano Ferreira (BB): Trimtec

IN BRIEF

News inBrief


And what if you had the designer forthe year 2020 living in your home?

In November, using this slogan, welaunched a proposal for the youngestof our flock. The idea was to find outhow our children see car doors,without forgetting that they are theusers of the future.

For this reason it is particular-ly important to find out whatthey would like them to belike. The result was a com-plete surprise and they gaveus a variety of really inter-

esting ideas. In their eyes, thedoors are boring, sad andnot very attractive. Theyfavour a contrast in colourand original motifs. At thesame time, they also placegreat importance on lighting,although keeping in mindthe fact that while they aretravelling or playing in thecar, the light should not an-noy their parents while theyare driving.

With respect to the function-al aspects, they suggestspaces for storing their toys,films, etc. Even sick bags aregiven their own place. If youwould like to continue to takepart in this activity, you cansend us your proposals to theMarketing Department*.

* Contact:

Roberto González Prieto,

[email protected]

We would like to thank all our participants for their participation and enlightening suggestions.

GA Illinoispreparesfor asuccessfullaunchHello once again from every-one here at Grupo Antolin - Illi-nois. Enthusiasm is rising aspreparations continue for thestart of production for our clientDaimlerChrysler. The staffworking on our first shift is nowcomplete.

Following a comprehensivetraining stage, the productionteam is now becoming moreand more robust. The U.E.T.shave now been set up and themorale at Grupo Antolin couldnot be higher.

A test was recently carried outover the whole line for theDTMs (Modules for Door Fit-tings) both front and back forour client. Everyone took partin this assignment and we arenow on course for a successfullaunch. We are all very fo-cussed on our objective ofstarting production in a satis-factory way and hope to keepyou informed as we near thestart-up date for production.


Employees at Grupo AntolínNorth America and from theTerritory come together to of-fer their support for the aid cam-paigns organised for HurricaneKatrina.

The employees and manage-ment of Grupo Antolin in NorthAmerica (in the photo at thebottom) joined together to offertheir support for the Aid Cam-paign organised by the Ameri-can Red Cross in the region ofthe Gulf Coast of the UnitedStates, after Hurricane Katrinadevastated most of the region.

The Territory launched a pro-gramme through which it con-tributed one dollar ($1) foreach dollar donated by em-ployees from the Territory.

By the time the collection pe-riod was over, the Territory em-ployees had generously donat-ed $10,500 for the Aid Cam-

paign. At the end of the pro-gramme, the decision was tak-en by the organisation to makea total contribution of $30,000towards the Disaster Aid Fundof the American Red Cross insupport of the campaign to aidvictims of Hurricane Katrina.

On 10th November 2005 inShreveport, Louisiana, at theinstallations of Grupo AntolinLouisiana (just north of theaffected area), the donationwas presented to Reid Brau,executive director of theAmerican Red Cross, NorthWest Louisiana Section. So far,the American Red Cross hascollected 1,500 million dol-lars in donations for the aidcampaign. The employees andmanagement of the NorthAmerican Territory are reallyproud of having been able tooffer their support to the vic-tims of the devastation causedby Hurricane Katrina.

On 11th November, ourPresident was honouredwith the 2005 Business In-ternationalisation Award,established by the LocalGovernment of Castilla yLeón to recognise the externalprojection of businesses andbusiness entrepreneurs in theRegion.

Also awarded a prize was theSegovia company for foodand animal products, Dibaq-Diproteg.

The President of the LocalGovernment of Castilla y

León, Juan Vicente Herrera,presented the awards duringthe 2nd Forum for Business In-ternationalisation at BoecilloTechnological Estate.

The ceremony was also at-tended by representativesfrom the most importantcompanies in the region. It isworth pointing out that thejudges all saw fit to honourour President with specialrecognition for his career inconsideration of his specialmerits both in the field of in-ternationalisation and also forhis dynamic personality.

Hurricane Katrina

Grupo Antolin:2005 Business Internationalisation Award

On 12th and 13th October,the managerial staff of theNorth American Territorymet for the first time in orderto present the new organisa-tion of the Territory and alsoto gather together the entiremanagement team. Themeeting served as a forum forthe discussion of the year'sresults and to talk about thefuture of the Territory.

The group was formed by theExecutive Committee ofGANA, Territory Managers,Plant Managers, CustomerAccount Managers, and Pro-gramme Managers.

Grupo Antolin Kentucky host-ed this inaugural meeting,which began with a visit to theplant and a dinner on 12thOctober.

The agenda for the second daywas divided into two parts.The morning was devoted toinforming the Territorial Com-

mittee of the current activi-ties and results, and the af-ternoon to asking the team fortheir reflections on the future.

Miguel Ángel Vicente, Opera-tions Manager for NorthAmerica, began the meetingin the morning with a presen-tation of some of the resultsfor the Group and for the Ter-ritory, setting out his ideas andvision concerning this subjectand the reasons that led to theorganisation of this event.

The agenda then continuedwith presentations by the fol-lowing Territorial Managers:Johannes Hensoldt (FinanceManager), Alfred Richter(Door Product Manager),Miguel Marcos (Roof ProductManager), Ignacio

Gordo (Head of Purchasing),Thomas E. Isaacs, (Delta ProjectManager), Russ Goemaere(Head of Marketing) and TroyCurran (Human Resource Man-

ager). Each speaker provided in-formation and results on their re-spective functions and also re-ported on some of the activi-ties soon to be set up in theirsection.

The afternoon session was acollaborative effort of thewhole Territorial Committeeto deal with its future and tolaunch an initiative for reflect-ing on the Values, Vision andMission for the Territory.

Miguel Ángel Vicente andThomas E. Isaacs led an exercisefor all members of the teamthat were present with the fol-lowing objective: to reflect onthe factors to be used to shapethe future. Miguel Ángel Vi-cente insisted on improving theflow of communication with-in the Territory so as to ensurethat its voice plays a significantrole in building the future. In or-der to achieve this objective,the Territorial Committee hasbeen allocated the task of re-turning to its plant or depart-ment and completing a simi-lar exercise at operative levelwithin the organisation so as tobenefit from the contributionsof all members of staff. In theend, the factors moulding thefuture will be driven by theopinions voiced by all employ-ees. The meeting may have fin-ished, but the hard work con-tinues. There are many chal-lenges in the car industry andever greater demands from ourcustomers, but we have set ourcourse and this will enable us tobuild our future in the NorthAmerican Territory. We have aTerritorial Committee devotedto progress and to achievingour goals and objectives.


NewcertificatesISO 14001Grupo Antolin began its sup-port for the EnvironmentalManagement systems in1998. Since then, 31 compa-nies have now achieved a cer-tificate. In November 2005,AENOR granted a certificatein accordance with ISO stan-dard 14001:2004 to the fol-lowing companies:

· G.A. Kent (UK): including itsroof manufacturing plant inRamsgate and assemblylines in Solihull

· TRIMTEC (Brazil)

· INTERTRIM (Brazil)

We would like to take this op-portunity to offer them ourcongratulations for achievingthis certificate and to encour-age everyone to continueworking for the constant im-provement of our behaviourwith respect to the environ-ment.

Inaugural Committeefor the NorthernTerritory of NorthAmerica

Además de las personas expresamente mencionadas en estas páginas, agradecemos la colaboración a: Sandra Prieto Sandra Prieto (GrupoAntolin-Vigo), Noelia Renes y Olivier Maljean (DOES), Michael Gasey (Grupo Antolin-Illinois), Carolina Valdivielso (Dept.QualityAssurance), Mónica Calzada, Roberto González (DIM-Dept Marketing), Troy Curran (Grupo Antolin-North America), Berta Fernández(DEOM), Rafael Martínez (Grupo Antolin-PGA), Leticia Fernández (DHH.RR) e Ismael del Moral (DIM-Graphic Design)

Acknowledgement


HEALTH

D espite this nocturnal deity lyingin wait for them, over 30% of theworld's population are unable to

commend themselves to his arms.

Sleeping a lot, not sleeping at all, sleepingbadly, only sleeping now and again …thereare an infinite number of variations, andeveryone that has this problem suffers fromthe consequences both day and night.Sleep disorders: these are of considerableconcern to us; after all, human beingsspend a large part of their existence sleep-ing, or at least trying to do so.

When we talk about sleep disorders, weneed to consider three basic symptoms:

- Insomnia, the difficulty to fall or remaina sleep.

- Hypersomnolence, excessive night timesleep and excessive sleepiness during theday, usually a consequence of an un-derlying illness.

- Sleep apneas: Sudden interruption ofbreathing while sleeping, characterised byheavy snoring, and interrupted by silence,at which time breathing is momentarily cutoff (this is called apnea). Factors that havean effect on apnea: age, obesity, consump-tion of alcohol or sedatives, a blockednose, large tongue, narrow airways andeven a certain shape of the palate.

But “insomnia” is one of the most com-mon disorders in our society.

Experts define it as being "the inability tofall or remain asleep properly depending onthe physical requirements of each person."

Insomnia has nothing to do with the num-ber of hours' sleep since this basically de-pends on the characteristics of each subjectand it is impossible to generalise; children,young people, and those that do physicalexercise probably need more hours' sleep.Although the normal amount ranges fromseven to nine hours, this figure varies witheach person. Insomnia is more commonin women and elderly people.

If you identify with one of the followingsituations, you probably suffer from in-somnia:

- You find it hard to get to sleep

- You often wake up during the night andhave problems going back to sleep again

- In the morning you wake up suddenly,earlier than usual

- You do not wake up feeling refreshed butfeel as if you have not rested during thenight

Treatment for sleep disorders includes:

- Sleep hygiene, meaning the need toavoid sleeping at different times and tak-ing naps at the end of the afternoon.

- Not drinking coffee, tea, cola, alcoholor any other form of stimulant.

- Avoiding heavy evening meals and wait-ing an hour or two before going to bed.

- Not going to bed feeling hungry.

- In the case of jet lag, it is sufficient to fol-low a number of tips when you reachyour final destination, such as: expos-ing yourself to the light, trying to staymentally and physically awake, tryingto go to sleep when night falls, not be-fore, otherwise you can take a small nap.

- Doing a moderate and regular amount ofphysical exercise in the afternoon/evening.

- Controlling the amount of noise and thetemperature in the room, since excessiveheat will make sleep difficult.Sleep disorders

Do not rush headlong into taking any kind ofmedication but consult your doctor. Try somerelaxation techniques, and eliminate stress.

Valerian , Passiflora and Melissa may help.Essential oils including basil, lavender, andcamomile oil, etc. …Eat healthy food andthink positively. Sweet dreams!!!

Sleep disorders

Azucena Temiño MEDICAL DEPARTMENT (GA-ARA, GA-ARDASA, G-PLASBUR)

“Morpheus, the son of Sleep (Hypnos) and of the Night (Nyx), reveals himself to people whenthey are asleep at night, so as to send them messages from the gods and ensure that no one maywake up his parents.”

Marcelo Sanz GRUPO ANTOLIN-INGENIERIA (SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER SEAT)


THE HISTORY CORNER

O ut of this need arose the SociedadEspañola de Automóviles de Tur-ismo, S.A. (SEAT) on 9th May

1950. Its capital stock was 600 million pe-setas with shares being held by the In-stituto Nacional de Industria (INI), alongwith six of the main Spanish banks, andFiat, the Italian car manufacturer as itstechnological partner.

Before the end of the fifties, the idea tookhold for a factory which was set up in ZonaFranca in Barcelona, with a surface areaof 20 hectares. From its assembly lines thereemerged three years later - on 13th No-vember 1953 to be exact - the first mod-el produced by SEAT: the 1400. 27th June

SEATThe plant was started up with the onset of the industrialisation process in Spain in the fifties. It

was vital to increase car ownership in the country and to accelerate its economic growth bycreating a peripheral industry around it along with thousands of jobs.

ACHIEVEMENTSWithout any doubt, the first achievement was the increase in carownership throughout the country, since for sixteen years the marketwas inundated with its mythical Seat 600, of which roughly 800,000units were manufactured altogether. However, before this model dis-appeared from the scene, the company had already reached anothermilestone, as in only 15 years - in 1968 to be exact - it attained thefigure of one million cars produced in Zona Franca.

Another achievement was the internationalisation of the company, sinceit now operates in over 60 countries world wide, although its mostimportant markets are in Europe, and it has built up a broad com-mercial network and welfare system. One strategic decision in thisrespect was the creation, in 1975, of the Technical Plant in Martorell,which over the years was to become a key installation for our brandname, as it continued to acquire more and more prominence in the de-velopment of products with cutting edge technology.

1957 was another key date in the history ofthe company since it was then that the SEAT600 first went into production, this beingthe start of a phase of a massive increasein car ownership in Spain.

In 1980 Fiat decides not to increase its cap-ital stock, due to its other interests. One yearlater, it sold its stake in INI for the symbolicprice of one peseta, with this organisationgaining 95% of the stock of the Spanish carfirm. SEAT was unable to go it alone andwent in search of another partner. This iswhen Volkswagen appeared, with whomSEAT signed collaboration agreements in1982, although it was not really integrat-ed in the group until 1986. The Germanconsortium then acquired 51% of SEAT'scapital, although over time it continued tobuy more shares until it had acquired 100%of the company's capital.

Product

SEAT's current, modern range of productsconsists of six models: Ibiza, Cordoba, León,Altea, Toledo and Alhambra.

Apart from the latter, which is made in Por-tugal, all the models using this trademark

are manufactured at the plant in Martorell.This manufacturing plant, which wasopened in February 1993 by His Majesty theKing, Don

Mercado

When SEAT first started manufacturing, in1953, it produced 5 cars per day. Nowa-days, almost 52 years later, the Spanishmarket is clearly one of the most dynam-ic in Europe, due to its steady growth,which has enabled it to surpass the fig-ure of one and a half million units regis-tered in 2004. And SEAT has had a lot todo with such achievement, both for be-ing the first brand name to popularise theuse of the car, particularly with the em-blematic 600, and also for its contribu-tion today, with an attractive and innova-tive range of models.

The figures speak for themselves. Nearly460,000 cars manufactured in 2004, main-ly at its modern factory in Martorell. Ofthese, 150,000 were marketed in Spainand the rest were sold in the export mar-kets, in which SEAT has been operativesince 1965, and proof of its decidedly inter-national vocation.

The value of a brand

name

One factor to be taken into account isthe growing demand for vehicles withgreater “value added”, ie. with more pow-erful engine specifications and better fit-tings.

This generates more earnings, moreclients, and enhances the image of thebrand name.

Another of the company's values is its con-tinued effort to go on investing so as tolaunch new models and upgrade its instal-lations. Within the context of this strate-gy, one of the priorities is the investmentin Research and Development (R+D) forthe purposes of being able to offer inno-vative products with the utmost quality.Engaged in this activity are 1,300 peo-ple, working every day at SEAT's TechnicalPlant at Martorell, which gives the firma unique position amongst all the car man-ufacturers established in Spain, since it isthe only one capable of designing, de-veloping and producing its own cars.

Seat 1400

New Seat León

Seat Altea

Latest version of the Ibiza


EN ROUTE

Geografía of VigoLocated at 42º 14´ North, 8º 45´ West, in the autonomous region of Galicia, Spain. It has a

surface area of 110 sq.km.Population There are currently 303,000

inhabitants, representing 32% of the province of Pontevedra and 12% of the population of

Galicia, with a density of 2,755inhabitants/sq.km.

Climate Temperate, with a large amount of rainfall throughout the whole year, and an

average temperature of 15º CLanguage Spanish.

Currency Euro

Useful links• http://www.vigoenfotos.com

“In Vigo there are sirens in the centre of town and olives staring out to sea,castles that are museums, hundred-year-old streetlights that double up as benches, and rainthat drops into the sea and remains there forever more; there are also daytime inhabitantsthat are replaced by their nocturnal counterparts and thus the streets are perpetuallybrimming with life.”

VigoI t owes its history to the sea, marked by

Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Vikings,Normans... peoples that reached these

shores. This was the wealth on which industryand the city itself were founded. The sea gi-ves life to its gastronomy. The sea has moul-ded its surroundings. The sea is trade, the seais transport. The sea is sport and adventure.The sea in Vigo is a stream of tongues, ra-ces, and cultures that turn it into a cosmo-politan city.

From the port of Vigo in the past hundreds ofthousands of emigrants set sail bound forAmerica. For Vigo, the sea means life.

It is a really young town; the town char-ter dates from 1810, with most of its urbanand demographic growth taking place inthe 20th century, when its population in-creased twenty times over.


Places not to bemissed

Vigo does not only have one centre, it hasmany. It is a city of neighbourhoods: each withits own character, its own customs, its own tra-ditions and festivities, and they are all different.

When you arrive in Vigo, there are places thatare an absolute must, such as the district ofLA PIEDRA, where you can try the wonderfuloysters prised open for us by the “ostreiras” ,who display great dexterity with their knife andhands in a unique setting, or go for a strollthrough the CASCO VELLO with its smell of sto-ne and sailors that have left their mark overtime; EL BERBES, where in the past there usedto be all the hustle and bustle of the “pes-cantinas” (women that work selling fish inthe mornings), sailors and tradesmen constantlyhaggling to get the best price after all the effortof a night out fishing and now exuding withthe smell of the sea and the sound of the seagulls; EL CASTRO, the most important vantagepoint in Vigo; BOUZAS, the fishermen's quar-ters full of taverns and secret places, with theprevalence of the sea and stones, markingthe beginning of Vigo's great Arenal, a vast suc-cession of beaches of fine white sand; and ofcourse, LAS ISLAS CIES, “the Galician Caribbe-an”, a paradise for birds, species of plant, shell-fish, and obviously also for all the people thatvisit it. For those that are more adventurous, theislands offer a campsite where you can spend

the night, or else you can go out on a day'sexcursion, taking a day return.

Vigo is a real thrill for the five senses, itsscenery dazzles us in all its variations, thesounds of its sea and people, the texturesof its noble materials, the smell of salt, notforgetting its captivating flavours, since in Vi-go it is possible to taste the best fish andseafood in the world, accompanied by somereally good wines such as Albariño.

Vigo is more than a city, it is the whole re-gion. We cannot talk about it without mentio-ning its surroundings: Bayona with its Parador(state-owned hotel) and thalassotherapy cen-tre, standing watch over the sea, Cangas andMoaña with their harbours and flat-bottomedboats, Redondela and its cuttlefish, Porriño andits quarries, Playa América, Tuy with its cat-hedral, the island of San Simón,… and coun-tless other unique spots where Galicians andvisitors alike can go to enjoy themselves.

However, life in Vigo is not just about part-ying, Vigo also means work, as the old folkin the town say: “ While La Coruña plays,Santiago prays and Pontevedra rests, Vigo…works”; Vigo means industry and it is brim-ming with entrepreneurial spirit and workersthat set in motion the gigantic machinerycomprising such industries as the port, ship-building, canning factories, stonework andthe car sector with PSA, Peugeot Citroen Vi-go Plant at the forefront.

FootballCrazy…The city's team, Celta de Vigo,regained its place in the leaguehalfway through 2005, giving it theright to play in the premier divisionof the Spanish football league.

With the aim of avoiding relegation,Celta kicked off the 2005-06 seasonwith a firm foot.With a completelynew team full of middle-class players,the Vigo team has become one of thebiggest sensations in the league thisyear. Spending little but signing anumber of players, they havemanaged to delight the fans.We arewatching a Celta that is trulyworthy of the first division.

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SPAINArdasaGrupo Antolin (Head Office)Grupo Antolin- Alava Grupo Antolin- AraGrupo Antolin- AragusaGrupo Antolin -AutotrimGrupo Antolin- DapsaGrupo Antolin- EuroepsilonGrupo Antolin- EurotrimGrupo Antolin- IngenieriaGrupo Antolin- Linara Grupo Antolin- Martorell Grupo Antolin- NavarraGrupo Antolin- Palencia Grupo Antolin- PGA Grupo Antolin- PlasburGrupo Antolin- RyA

ARGENTINAIRAUTO

GERMANYGrupo Antolin- AutoformGrupo Antolin- Deutschland Grupo Antolin- Logistik Deutschland

BRAZILIntertrimIramec Trimtec

SLOVAkIAGrupo Antolin- Bratislava

FRANCEGrupo Antolin- FFIGrupo Antolin- FranceGrupo Antolin- HFRGrupo Antolin- IGA Grupo Antolin- Ingenierie SiegesGrupo Antolin- Logistique Douai Grupo Antolin- LoireGrupo Antolin- VosgesTANIS

PORTUGALGrupo Antolin- Lusitania

UNITED KINGDOMGrupo Antolin- Kent Grupo Antolin- U.K.

CZECH REPUBLICGrupo Antolin- BohemiaGrupo Antolin- Turnov

USAGrupo Antolin - Illinois Grupo Antolin- Kentucky Grupo Antolin- LouisianaGrupo Antolin- MichiganGrupo Antolin- North AmericaGrupo Antolin- Wayne

MEXICOGrupo Antolin- Silao

CHINA Agency in ShanghaiAntolin Shanghai Autoparts Chongqing Antolin Tuopu Overhead Systems (JV)

INDIAKrishna GrupoAntolin Grupo Antolin -Pune (Desing Centre) Grupo Antolin- Pune

IRAN (Technology License)

JAPANGrupo Antolin- Japan

MORROCCOGrupo Antolin - Tanger

SOUTH AFRICAGrupo Antolin- South Africa

THAILAND (Technology License)

TURKEYOtotrim

the new c4 picasso from citroen a great challenge for grupo … · 2013. 12. 3. · new picasso (c4...

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