A visit to the Porsche factory in Stuttgart
06-07-2008, 11:18 AM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
A visit to the Porsche factory in Stuttgart
Thought I'd share my experience with you all. I had the good fortune to be able to visit the Porsche factory on Friday May 30th, all arranged through the Danish Porsche Club.
First of all, let me disappoint you with the fact that cameras were prohibited inside the factory, so not a single photo from the tour. All pictures are from the very small museum they currently have (Working on a new building which will house a much larger museum and scheduled to open later this year).
Went to Stuttgart on Thursday, together with another member of the Porsche Club. Didn't go by Porsche; used his new Ford Mondeo Turbodiesel instead (Compared to fuel costs had I gone alone in the 928, this cut my expenses to 1/3!). Trip to Stuttgart was uneventful. Very hot in Germany, so the Mondeo was a wise choice - had an excellent A/C system that kept us cool. My 928 A/C in comparison wouldn't even remotely have been able to cope with the heat.
Stayed at a pleasant little hotel in Gerlingen; a cosy little German town with old buildings.
Friday morning we were picked up by bus and taken to the factory. Started out in the museum, where I shot the attached pictures. Then we went to the assembly line on a guided tour. Didn't get to see the bodies being welded as this took place in a separate building, where construction work made having visitors impractical. Did see the bodies arrive by the famous bridge across the street, between two buildings. After the assembly line, we went to another building where engines were being built, and then we got to see the leather department. Tour was rounded off by a visit to their Exclusive Fitting Lounge and Custom Tailoring workshop, where customers could have even more customisation done, if the standard options weren't enough.
Can't describe all the impressions in detail, but will try to relay some of the most interesting facts in the following:
First of all, the assembly line was very compact. They're pressed for space, since the city had sprouted around them after they first came to Stuttgart. No room to expand, except upwards, by adding more floors to existing buildings. This is why the assembly line runs on several levels; with the cars being moved by elevators between levels.
Most impressive was the fact that it's a mixed assembly line, producing all 911 models, including RS race versions, as well as Boxsters and Caymans, all mixed between one another. The don't produce any cars for stock, so all are made to customer specifications, which means that not two cars on the line are identical. They finish a car every 5 minutes, for a total of 160 a day, in two shifts. Factory employs 4.800 people, with 3.800 being involved in the car building process.
The cars stay for 5 minutes at each station on the line, and the parts needed at each station is supplied on trolley or kit cars; some operated by workers, others by small 'robot locomotives', steering along black lines on the floors. Since each car is unique, the parts of course have to match that specific car. Mind-boggling logistical feat to get all this running smoothly - you have workers filling the kit cars from the stock and they in turn have to arrive at the assembly station at the exact time the car they're intended for arrives. In addition, they also work by a 'just-in-time' principle, where parts from some of their sub-contractors arrive at the factory just 30 minutes before they're needed for the car!
All assembly was done by hand, except for fitting windscreens and rear windows. Since the windows are very heavy, this was done by a robot, to a precision of 0.5mm.
A funny thing the guide told us was that they had oriented the line so that the cars were travelling forward, because the workers made less errors this way!
Couldn't explain it, but it was a fact and so they had acted accordingly.
An interesting tidbit was that on the day we were there, they would shut the assembly line for visitors after noon, since a prototype was coming through. Panamera maybe ?
On the engine assembly line, each engine was build by one worker from start to finish, as this makes for more motivated employees than if they just do the same step over and over again. This meant that the workers moved along with the engines from station to station, instead of staying at one station like the car assembly line (on this, the workers were organized into groups of stations, and rotated between stations, again to keep motivation up)
In the leather works, the complete, dyed hides were first inspected for insect bites, scars and any other faults making part of the leather unusable. This was digitally mapped and then the hide was cut into the usable pieces, by a 0.1mm water jet, with 3000 bars pressure (For comparison, a home high pressure cleaner typically operates with 100-150 bars pressure). Unused parts of the leather are sold - not as rumor had it, to Chrysler :-), but rather to makers of purses, wallets and other leather products.
Interesting also to see the fitting lounge and the customisation workshop. Cars in the latter were mainly high-profile ones, like GT2s and 911 Turbos, signalling customers with money-no-object conditions, who typically ordered customisation in the extreme.
After the tour, we had an opportunity to buy various Porsche Design products from a shop adjacent to the museum. Prices were quite inflated as you can probably imagine, so I limited myself to a polo shirt and a couple of key-rings (see photos)
We then had a splendid lunch, after which the bus returned and took us to another Porsche location in Stuttgart, housing administrative functions. Here we were given a a presentation about the origins and enduring fascination of the 911. Interesting enough, but I would of course have preferred hearing about the 928... :-)
Bus returned us to the hotel and then we were picked up again in the evening and taken to a small, cozy restaurant in Stuttgart and served a superb dinner, hosted by Porsche. A funny moment was when one of our group addressed the waiter in broken German, only to be replied in fluent Danish! Turned out the waiter was from Denmark himself.. :-)
A very nice event all together and done with impressive hospitality by Porsche, considering they have 600 clubs worldwide, with over 130.000 members - all of whom will of course like to visit them.
After breakfast Saturday, we set out on the return journey. Uneventful again, except for being passed by a couple of masked cars (see photos; looks like it could be a Mercedes I think), and being stuck in a jam for two full hours; watching the outside temp climb to 41.5ºC (106.7ºF).
Cheers,
Erling
First of all, let me disappoint you with the fact that cameras were prohibited inside the factory, so not a single photo from the tour. All pictures are from the very small museum they currently have (Working on a new building which will house a much larger museum and scheduled to open later this year).
Went to Stuttgart on Thursday, together with another member of the Porsche Club. Didn't go by Porsche; used his new Ford Mondeo Turbodiesel instead (Compared to fuel costs had I gone alone in the 928, this cut my expenses to 1/3!). Trip to Stuttgart was uneventful. Very hot in Germany, so the Mondeo was a wise choice - had an excellent A/C system that kept us cool. My 928 A/C in comparison wouldn't even remotely have been able to cope with the heat.
Stayed at a pleasant little hotel in Gerlingen; a cosy little German town with old buildings.
Friday morning we were picked up by bus and taken to the factory. Started out in the museum, where I shot the attached pictures. Then we went to the assembly line on a guided tour. Didn't get to see the bodies being welded as this took place in a separate building, where construction work made having visitors impractical. Did see the bodies arrive by the famous bridge across the street, between two buildings. After the assembly line, we went to another building where engines were being built, and then we got to see the leather department. Tour was rounded off by a visit to their Exclusive Fitting Lounge and Custom Tailoring workshop, where customers could have even more customisation done, if the standard options weren't enough.
Can't describe all the impressions in detail, but will try to relay some of the most interesting facts in the following:
First of all, the assembly line was very compact. They're pressed for space, since the city had sprouted around them after they first came to Stuttgart. No room to expand, except upwards, by adding more floors to existing buildings. This is why the assembly line runs on several levels; with the cars being moved by elevators between levels.
Most impressive was the fact that it's a mixed assembly line, producing all 911 models, including RS race versions, as well as Boxsters and Caymans, all mixed between one another. The don't produce any cars for stock, so all are made to customer specifications, which means that not two cars on the line are identical. They finish a car every 5 minutes, for a total of 160 a day, in two shifts. Factory employs 4.800 people, with 3.800 being involved in the car building process.
The cars stay for 5 minutes at each station on the line, and the parts needed at each station is supplied on trolley or kit cars; some operated by workers, others by small 'robot locomotives', steering along black lines on the floors. Since each car is unique, the parts of course have to match that specific car. Mind-boggling logistical feat to get all this running smoothly - you have workers filling the kit cars from the stock and they in turn have to arrive at the assembly station at the exact time the car they're intended for arrives. In addition, they also work by a 'just-in-time' principle, where parts from some of their sub-contractors arrive at the factory just 30 minutes before they're needed for the car!
All assembly was done by hand, except for fitting windscreens and rear windows. Since the windows are very heavy, this was done by a robot, to a precision of 0.5mm.
A funny thing the guide told us was that they had oriented the line so that the cars were travelling forward, because the workers made less errors this way!
Couldn't explain it, but it was a fact and so they had acted accordingly.
An interesting tidbit was that on the day we were there, they would shut the assembly line for visitors after noon, since a prototype was coming through. Panamera maybe ?
On the engine assembly line, each engine was build by one worker from start to finish, as this makes for more motivated employees than if they just do the same step over and over again. This meant that the workers moved along with the engines from station to station, instead of staying at one station like the car assembly line (on this, the workers were organized into groups of stations, and rotated between stations, again to keep motivation up)
In the leather works, the complete, dyed hides were first inspected for insect bites, scars and any other faults making part of the leather unusable. This was digitally mapped and then the hide was cut into the usable pieces, by a 0.1mm water jet, with 3000 bars pressure (For comparison, a home high pressure cleaner typically operates with 100-150 bars pressure). Unused parts of the leather are sold - not as rumor had it, to Chrysler :-), but rather to makers of purses, wallets and other leather products.
Interesting also to see the fitting lounge and the customisation workshop. Cars in the latter were mainly high-profile ones, like GT2s and 911 Turbos, signalling customers with money-no-object conditions, who typically ordered customisation in the extreme.
After the tour, we had an opportunity to buy various Porsche Design products from a shop adjacent to the museum. Prices were quite inflated as you can probably imagine, so I limited myself to a polo shirt and a couple of key-rings (see photos)
We then had a splendid lunch, after which the bus returned and took us to another Porsche location in Stuttgart, housing administrative functions. Here we were given a a presentation about the origins and enduring fascination of the 911. Interesting enough, but I would of course have preferred hearing about the 928... :-)
Bus returned us to the hotel and then we were picked up again in the evening and taken to a small, cozy restaurant in Stuttgart and served a superb dinner, hosted by Porsche. A funny moment was when one of our group addressed the waiter in broken German, only to be replied in fluent Danish! Turned out the waiter was from Denmark himself.. :-)
A very nice event all together and done with impressive hospitality by Porsche, considering they have 600 clubs worldwide, with over 130.000 members - all of whom will of course like to visit them.
After breakfast Saturday, we set out on the return journey. Uneventful again, except for being passed by a couple of masked cars (see photos; looks like it could be a Mercedes I think), and being stuck in a jam for two full hours; watching the outside temp climb to 41.5ºC (106.7ºF).
Cheers,
Erling
06-07-2008, 02:58 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
Great write-up and photos; thanks for the post.
06-07-2008, 04:18 PM
#7
Nordschleife Master
WOW! What a GREAT opportunity! I had a good time back in 2000 when I was able to do that, but we were not able to see some parts of the factory because they were not wheelchair friendly and we didn't get the nice dinner and such. Pays to go w/ the Porsche Club from whatever country you live in!
Thanks for all the pics. We saw that GT1-98 over at the Weissach test area when we went. I wanted to buy a Porsche official drivers suit while I was there and you had to go over to Weissach to do that! We got to tour around all the facilities but unfortunately didn't get to drive on track! Would have LOVED to have taken my '92 Euro GTS on the official test track! It was not a Friday when we arrived so no dice. We were not in the 92 that day anyway.
James
Thanks for all the pics. We saw that GT1-98 over at the Weissach test area when we went. I wanted to buy a Porsche official drivers suit while I was there and you had to go over to Weissach to do that! We got to tour around all the facilities but unfortunately didn't get to drive on track! Would have LOVED to have taken my '92 Euro GTS on the official test track! It was not a Friday when we arrived so no dice. We were not in the 92 that day anyway.
James
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06-07-2008, 04:32 PM
#8
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Great write-up and pics. I can't wait to make the trip for the new museum.
06-07-2008, 08:44 PM
#10
928 Engine Re-Re-Rebuild Specialist
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Pretty much the entire auto industry utilizes the just-in-time ("JIT") process. Suppliers actually sequence their specialized parts so that they are unloaded off of the trucks in the exact order that they'll be used on the manufacturers' assembly lines.
06-07-2008, 08:56 PM
#11
Racer
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06-10-2008, 05:46 AM
#12
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Damn sounds like a good trip, couldn't go this year. maybee next time. 4 years from now 
When is the new museum opening ? the museum looks like the last 2 time i was there
Mads
When is the new museum opening ? the museum looks like the last 2 time i was there
Mads
06-10-2008, 08:49 AM
#14
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Did they actually do Boxsters and Caymans or just their engines? At least while back all Boxster and Cayman body assembly were done in Finland because 911 was selling so well that entire Stuttgart capasity was needed for making them.
06-10-2008, 02:54 PM
#15
Racer
Thread Starter
All engines were made in Stuttgart though; they stressed this point several times.
Cheers,
Erling
