Nissan UK Unveils New Stamping Machine for Qashcai

Nissan in UK unveiled their newest piece of machinery: a £52 million (approximately Php 3.5 billion)  XL press line stationed in its manufacturing plant in Sunderland. The Japanese company is upping their game as preparations ramp up for the Qashqai’s relaunch. Nissan Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta, who said: “When the first Nissan Qashqai rolled off the line in Sunderland in 2006 it created the crossover segment. Designed, engineered and made in the UK, and more than three million vehicles later, it remains the benchmark, just as our team in the UK continues to set the standard for productivity and quality.” The massive press weighs more than 2,000 tons (2 milliom kilograms) and took about 18 months to install. The new press is equipped with a new recycling system to segregate and more effectively process scrap material. The press is capable of stamping more than 6.1 million vehicle panels a year, with a maximum combined force of 5,400 tons, all to pinpoint accuracy. As part of the opening ceremony last Friday, the whole team behind the press project all signed the first panel that underwent the press: a fender for the new generation Nissan Juke. “March 2020 marks the tenth anniversary of the first Juke to roll off the line in Sunderland, when its daring styling broke the mold in the B-segment. The all-new version has been made exclusively in Sunderland since October last year, bringing new levels of technology and connectivity to the compact crossover category,” shares Nissan in their press release. “The £400 million (Php 26.5 billion) invested for Qashqai comes on top of the £100 million  (Php 6.25 billion) invested for the launch of new Juke, and is part of an overall £1 billion (Php 6.2 billion) planned investment into the plant by Nissan over five years. To support certain elements of the £400m investment, Nissan has received support from the UK Government’s Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy.” Steve Marsh, Vice President, Manufacturing, at Nissan Sunderland Plant, said: “Watching the first perfect panels coming off the press was a proud moment, and is a reflection of the tremendous skills we have here on Wearside. Juke is an iconic model. I know I speak for the whole plant in saying how proud we are to see the fantastic new version out on the roads, and that we are determined to keep delivering it to the quality levels our customers have come to expect.”

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