This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2016) |
The Cassino Assembly Plant is a car assembly plant owned by Stellantis. It is located in the town of Piedimonte San Germano, three kilometers from Cassino, in the province of Frosinone, Italy. The car assembly plant started in 1972 with the production of Fiat 126. Today, it has a total surface area of 2 million square meters, of which 400 thousand are covered. [1] The plant currently employs around 4,300 people.
Over seven million Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo cars have rolled out over time. Models include the Fiat Tipo, Fiat Bravo/Brava, Fiat Tempra, Fiat Croma, Fiat Stilo, Lancia Delta, Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Alfa Romeo Giulia and Alfa Romeo Stelvio.
The Cassino Assembly Plant was built in 1972 [2] near Cassino to build the Fiat 126. The Fiat 126 was in production until 2000 and was the last Fiat to fit a rear engine. In 1974, the Fiat 131 was introduced which stayed in production until 1984.
Production of the Fiat Ritmo, a new Italian mid-size car, was kicked off six years after the plant was opened. Comau Robogate systems were installed in 1978 in the Fiat Rivalta plant and in Cassino. This highly automated system was designed to facilitate and speed up the tasks of workers in the Body Shop. The plant was now operating at full capacity. Production of a new car – the Fiat Regata – started in 1983.
Over little more than ten years, the plant had become firmly established in the area and employed many locals. New models were introduced including the Fiat Tipo in 1988. [3] The car had a fully galvanized body and the use of new materials forced to modernize the systems. The model would be a best-seller and up to one thousand cars would roll off the lines a day. [4]
Production of the Tempra started one year later. The model came in three versions – sedan, wagon and van, named Marengo – and shared many components with the Tipo, such as the engines, the platform, the doors and the suspension. These models were replaced from 1995 to 1996 by a new family of cars: the Bravo and Brava, the Marea and the new Marengo van.
The production lines of the Bravo, Brava, and Marea were pulled down to make way for the assembly lines of the Stilo [5] which started production in 2001. The factory underwent yet another major technological advance when the Robogate was retired and replaced by the Open Gate system, which offered more efficient and accurate side panel welding. The production rate of the plant increased and touched 250 thousand cars a year.
Image | Brand | Model | Production |
---|---|---|---|
Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo Giulia (952) | 2016-present | |
Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo Stelvio | 2017-present | |
Maserati | Maserati Grecale | 2022-present | |
Image | Brand | Model | Production |
---|---|---|---|
Fiat | Fiat 126 | 1972-1978 | |
Fiat | Fiat 131 Berlina/Family | 1974-1978 | |
Fiat | Fiat Ritmo | 1978-1988 | |
Fiat | Fiat Regata | 1983-1990 | |
Fiat | Fiat Regata Weekend | 1984-1990 | |
Fiat | Fiat Tipo and Uno | 1988-1995 | |
Fiat | Fiat Tempra | 1990-1996 | |
Fiat | Fiat Bravo/Brava | 1995-2001 | |
Fiat | Fiat Marea | 1996-2003 | |
Fiat | Fiat Stilo | 2001-2008 | |
Fiat | Fiat Croma | 2004-2010 | |
Fiat | Fiat Bravo | 2007-2014 | |
Lancia | Lancia Delta | 2008-2014 | |
Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | 2010-2020 | |
The Cassino plant has identified with the Alfa Romeo brand since 2015. Modernisation works were started and completed in time for the first introduction phase of the Giulia in 2016. [6]
This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(April 2017) |
The year 2016 marked the turning point for Cassino. Management of the plant is inspired by principles of environmental friendliness and social sustainability. Change Management methods were adopted to transform Cassino into a “World Class Sustainable Plant”. Change Management involved organising WCM Academy activities in the Training Areas and trade schools in which all workers could learn and implement the procedures. All this was triggered by the repositioning of Alfa Romeo as a Premium brand and concerned all industrial processes. [7]
Stamping
Two technologies are used: the traditional "cold" method and the "hot" method. The “cold” forging process is one of the most productive in the world with 16 strikes per minute. The "hot" forging process is based on the principle that a product is stronger the weight being equal. The Press Shop at Cassino serves the main FCA plants in the EMEA and LATAM regions.
Body Shop
This is the most highly automated area of the plant with nearly 1300 robots installed. The impact that the new materials used for making cars have on welding technologies is very obvious here. Techniques are now available to join parts made of light aluminium alloy with parts made of steel. This used to be impossible with conventional spot welding.
Paint Shop
Energy-saving systems with a low environmental impact employing hardly any water are used here. Cassino is one of the first plants in the world to use dry scrubbing technology in the primer booths. Overspray is sucked in by a flow of air and collected in special cardboard separation modules, called Eisenmann E-cubes, instead of being washed away with water. The used filters are recovered by specialised companies. The result translates into less waste, better energy-efficiency and hardly any water. The little water that is used is collected, purified and reused.
The cataphoresis process, instead, uses the innovative Eisenmann E-Shuttle system, which features dipping and turning the body in the treatment bath. This technology improves the amount of protective liquid covering the chassis gaps and is ideal for aluminium bodies. Additionally, immersion tanks are much smaller, meaning that less energy and water is needed.
Plastic Components Unit
The Plastic Components Unit became part of the plant in 2014 and manages all principal processes for the production of plastic components: moulding, blowing, painting, thermoforming, foaming and assembly. Front and rear bumpers, dashboard shells, tunnel consoles and fuel tanks are made here for Cassino and for other FCA plants.
Assembly Line
Manual work is very important on the two Assembly Lines, one dedicated to the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and the other dedicated to the Giulia. This is why new workstations designed to reduce fatigue and improve ergonomics have been introduced. For instance, the special adaptive platforms automatically adjust the height of the workstation according to the stature of the person working there.
WCM
World Class Manufacturing (WCM) is the continuous improvement methodology adopted in FCA plants worldwide aimed at maximising competitiveness by eliminating waste, fostering personnel involvement and achieving high-quality standards. Product quality, workplace safety and environmental performance are the mainstays. [8] WCM was introduced in Cassino in 2005: the plant was awarded WCM Bronze just three years later and Silver in 2009. WCM is central for Cassino, in particular for managing the ergonomics, safety and automation of workstations. [9]
Work Place Integration (WPI), introduced in Cassino with the Giulia, is the approach used to make workstations according to better ergonomic standards. Each single workstation was designed and built by involving people and their experience. Many positive changes have been introduced on the Assembly Line, where the incidence of manual work is higher. [9]
Respect for the environment
The Cassino plant is characterised by the careful exploitation of natural resources, which has made it possible to achieve considerable results. The chosen technologies have the goal of eliminating the need to draw water from local sources for the industrial process. CO2 emissions of the production cycle as a whole are entirely compensated and no industrial waste is sent to the landfill. The same water is reused several times in the Body Shop and on the Assembly Line. In the Paint Shop, it was eliminated and replaced by dry filters in the paint booths. Energy use is also low because state-of-the-art technologies are used, like LED lights or energy heat recovery. Furthermore, the plant uses only electricity from guaranteed renewable sources or generated by solar panels.
Even the CO2 produced by the combustion of methane for industrial purposes is compensated by buying credits on the international market. [9]
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe. It was founded on 24 June 1910 in Milan, Italy, as A.L.F.A., an acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. The brand is known for sport-oriented vehicles and has been involved in car racing since 1911. As of 2023 it is a subsidiary of the multinational automotive manufacturing corporation Stellantis.
Zagato is a coachbuilding company. The design center of the company is located in Terrazzano, a village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy.
The Fiat Tempra is a small family car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1990 to 1996 in Italy. The Tempra was intended as a replacement for the Fiat Regata. The original project was called Tipo 3, being a mid-size car between the Fiat Tipo and the bigger Fiat Croma. The Tempra shares its Type Three platform with the Lancia Dedra and Alfa Romeo 155.
Multijet is Stellantis's term for its current common rail direct injection turbodiesel engine range. Most of the Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Lancia range, as well as certain Chrysler, RAM Trucks, Jeep, and Maserati vehicles, are equipped with Multijet engines. Ownership of some Fiat Multijet designs is shared with General Motors as part of a settlement of the failed merger between the two auto conglomerates. The GM Powertrain Torino group in Turin, Italy, manages its interest in these engines. Some PSA Peugeot Citroën diesel engines are also rebadged JTD units, and vice versa. Fiat's common-rail diesel engine is also known as JTD, an initialism of Jet Turbo Diesel.
Alfa Romeo Giulia is the name of three not directly related models by the Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo. The first is a line of sporty four-door compact executive cars produced from 1962 to 1978, the second is an updated, mainly up-engined Spider, Sprint and Sprint Speciale Giuliettas, and the third Giulia is a compact executive car unveiled in 2015.
Tofaş is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, who was the founder of Koç Holding, based in Bursa, where the manufacturing plant of the company is located. It is jointly owned by Stellantis and Koç Holding.
The Alfa Romeo Giulietta is a hatchback manufactured and marketed by Alfa Romeo, as a 5-door subcompact executive car. Production started near the end of 2009 and the model was introduced at the March 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The Giulietta placed second in the 2011 European Car of the Year awards. Between 2010 and 2019, production reached over 400,000. In 2020, Alfa Romeo announced that they were going to axe the Giulietta and production ended on 22 December 2020 spanning 10 years of sales from a period of 2010 to 2020. In total 469,067 examples were produced until 2020.
Ercole Spada is an Italian automobile designer. His most notable designs were produced in the 1960s, for the Zagato design studio house, where Spada was chief stylist. During this period some of the most notable sports cars by Aston Martin, Ferrari, Maserati, as well as Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Fiat and Lancia were clothed by Spada's designs.
The Alfa Romeo Giulietta is a family of automobiles made by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1954 until 1965 which included a 2+2 coupé, four-door saloon, estate, spider, Sprint, and Sprint Speciale. The 2+2 was Alfa Romeo's first successful foray into the 1.3-litre class. From 1954 to 1965 a total of 177,690 Giuliettas were made, the great majority in saloon (Berlina), Sprint coupé, or Spider body styles, but also as Sprint Speciale and Sprint Zagato coupés, and the rare Promiscua estate.
The Turin Motor Show was an auto show held annually in Turin, Italy. The first official show took place between 21 and 24 April 1900, at the Castle of Valentino, becoming a permanent fixture in Turin from 1938 having shared it with Milan and Rome until that time. From 1972, the show was held biannually and in 1984, it moved into Fiat's shuttered Lingotto factory.
The Alfa Romeo Spider is a two-seater, front-engined, rear-drive roadster manufactured and marketed by Alfa Romeo from 1966 to 1994 in four distinct generations, or "series", each with modifications ranging from modest to extensive.
The Alfa Romeo Arese Plant was a plant area where Alfa Romeo had its head office for more than two decades prior to 1986. After Fiat Group purchased Alfa Romeo in 1986, Arese became one of the assembly plants of Fiat Group. The factory is in the Province of Milan in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) northwest of Milan. The Arese plant replaced the old Alfa Romeo Portello factory and its construction was started in 1960 and took three years and until the end of the 1990s it was the biggest plant of Alfa Romeo covering a very wide area, partly in the territories of Lainate and Garbagnate Milanese. The factory became known as the Arese plant only because the main entrance is in the municipality of Arese.
The Fiat C-platform was an automobile platform used in small family cars of the Fiat Group. The predecessors of the C-platform were the Type Three and Type Two platforms, and the successor is the new Compact platform which debuted in Alfa Romeo Giulietta in 2010.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia is a compact executive car produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo. Known internally as the Type 952, it was unveiled in June 2015, with market launch scheduled for February 2016, and it is the first saloon offered by Alfa Romeo after the production of the 159 ended in 2011. The Giulia is also the first mass-market Alfa Romeo vehicle in over two decades to use a longitudinal rear-wheel drive platform, since the 75 which was discontinued in 1992. The Giulia was second in 2017 European Car of the Year voting and was named Motor Trend Car of the Year for 2018. In 2018, Giulia was awarded the Compasso d'Oro industrial design award.
The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale and Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale, also known as Giulietta SS and Giulia SS, are small sports cars manufactured by Alfa Romeo from 1959 to 1966.
The Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a car produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo since 2016. As a D-segment model it slots above the smaller Tonale model in the marque's SUV range. A large SUV, it was first revealed at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show, introduced by a 60" short film directed by Louis Sebastian Pane, and entered production at the Cassino Plant at the end of 2016. In 2018 it was Alfa Romeo's best-selling model, with roughly 43,000 sold that year.
The Global Medium Engine is a family of engines created by the powertrain division of Alfa Romeo and in production since 2016.
The Alfa Romeo Tipo 103 is a sub-compact front-wheel drive automobile developed by Alfa Romeo in the late 1950s. A prototype powered by a 0.9 L double overhead cam inline-four engine was completed in 1960. Alfa did not put the Tipo 103 into production.
The FCA Giorgio Platform is an automobile platform made by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles since 2015 debuting in the Alfa Romeo Giulia. Although following the merger with Groupe PSA to form Stellantis in 2021 the future of the Giorgio platform became uncertain, the platform is currently being modified to better accommodate both plug-in hybrid, and electric power plants, with not only the hybrid Jeep Grand Cherokee and fully electric Maserati Gran Turismo using the Giorgio platform, but also the future Maserati Levante, and future Giorgio platform cars using the company's V6 engine. Some models however, will transition to the STLA Large EV platform.
The history of Alfa Romeo, an Italian car manufacturer known for producing sports cars, began on June 24, 1910 with the founding of ALFA in Milan. In 1918 the company changed its name to "Alfa Romeo" following the acquisition of control of the company by Nicola Romeo.