miniman
Well-Known Forum User
Two of us were fortunate enough to have a guided tour of the Tochigi Plant recently where the 370z, 350z Roadster and GTR amongst many other cars are made. Here is an extract from my mate's blog about the visit:
A good friend of ours, Rich, has been in Tokyo for a bit of this week and he had managed to organise a trip out to Tochigi to see the Nissan factory out there. We met up in Ikebukero to get on the Shonan-Shinjuku line for 90 minutes or so for Ishibashi station. We thought we could get some lunch there before going over to the plant for our 1.20 appointment. We walked out of the station to be met with the proverbial tumbleweed... This was small-town Japan, big style. Things were not helped by the rain that had started sheeting down. Oh good. Well a quick wander up and down the “main street” showed that we didn't have much choice for lunch as almost all the cafés were shut...
So a random biscuitty thing with non-sweet chocolate flavour gunge inside (yes, it was as nasty as it sounds..) and a cup of stewed iced tea later, we got on the courtesy bus that goes from the station up to the factory. We arrived at the main gate and went over to the visitor centre. This looked remarkably like a car dealership would in the UK – huge windows and a few cars on display – including a 370Z and a couple of GTRs. We walked in to discover our names up on a TV display as honoured guests, which was a bit of a shock. I can't help feeling that we wouldn't get the same reception at a car factory in the UK....
We were a bit early and so had an opportunity to have a good poke around the 370Z. It is certainly a step up in quality from our old 350Z roadster and even Rich's late model coupé. The plastics are far more expensive feeling, more money has been spent on the electronics in the cabin and more thought has gone in to the layout of controls etc. The controls themselves are far nicer to use too. I took the time to have a sit in the GTR too. It obviously shares its DNA with the 370Z but it is far larger and far more aggressive looking. The quality of fit and finish are is obviously better than the 370 – but then you would hope that would be the case in a car that is roughly double the price. They also had one of the test cars on display that had been hammered round the Nurburgring – you could see from the blueing of the exhausts and scrubbed tyres that it had had a hard life. It also had its disguising materials covering the badges, dashboard, nose and tail of the car to try to frustrate the spy photographers.
It is a car that I would love to own but I can't help feeling that its abilities are so far above mine, that sooner rather than later, there would be a GTR sized hole in some scenery somewhere. Mind you, it would be a good giggle up to that point!
We were led in to a presentation room where we were told about the history of the company, history of the site, the Nissan Production Way as well as what we would be seeing later that afternoon. We were also given some safety glasses to wear in the body assembly shop. As we didn't have an interpreter with us, our guide for the afternoon did very well with the presentation and explaining what was going on in English. To say that the site is huge is a bit of an understatement! It is over 4km long and at least 1km wide with an oval test track that encloses all the main buildings on site as well as other smaller handling and ride courses where the engineers can test prototypes before they go in to production. We had our own bus for the afternoon...
We weren't allowed in to the pressing plant but we were shown the number 2 production line in entirety. I have not been in a modern car plant before and the outside of the building looked little different from all the other older metal-bashing factories in the UK. What was different was when we walked in to the body assembly shop and our guide turned the lights on! Yep – the machines work in darkness. All you could see was sparks from the welding robots in the various bays before the illumination showed the dollies that were carrying various bits of bodywork round the track of the line. The line could produce 8 different models simultaneously so the start of the line had a number of bays – one with the different roofs, front wings, side panels, doors etc etc and then the robots select which bits they need to make each different type of car. The floorpan is made up of 3 different sections that are held rigidly and then welded together to form the base of the car. The sides are added, then the front wings to form the engine bay then the front and rear bars for the roof. The cars are all regularly measured to make sure that they are within the tight tolerances required – again this all done by robots. Once all the panels are spot welded together, then the main structural seams are laser welded to make the shell rigid. Humans are involved with the final checking of the build and the removal of any burrs on the bodywork before the shell and doors are sent off to the paint shop.
Our next stop was the final assembly shop. This was where the painted body shells were fitted with all the mechanical, electrical and trim components to turn it in to a fully functioning car. The amazing thing was the lack of noise in the factory – no heavy hammering or machine noise, just the occasional sound of an air spanner for doing up components. The other main noise was the electrical tunes produced by the various drones that are used to tow trolleys of components round so that the right bits arrive at the correct car at the right time. All the work stations move with the car so the workers job is made easier and the line can move smoothly.
All cars produced by Nissan in Japan for the Japanese market are produced to order. This means that all the suppliers and the factory work to make sure that the right kit of parts, with the right extras, engine, wheels etc arrives at the same time as the correct body shell for final assembly. This factory holds no stock and all parts ordering etc is co-ordinated to the car orders that have been placed.
We were lucky to be watching the line that produces both the 370Z and GTR as well as the Skyline, Infiniti G37 and a couple of others. During our visit, the majority of the cars coming down track were either Zs or GTRs, which was good to see. The total production line length is over a kilometre before the cars are given their final functional check on a rolling road to test the accuracy of the speedometer and test wipers, lights etc etc. Once it gets the green pass light, then the car is driven on to a transporter, ready for delivery. It is certainly interesting watching 50 grands worth of car bouncing around on the rollers as the test driver gives it some beans!
We were then taken back to the visitors centre for a cup of coffee and a chat. Also we had our photos taken as a memento of the visit and were given some models of both a GTR and a 350Z. We didn't get a sniff of looking at a 370Z roadster as it is not in the public domain yet. I have to be honest and say that I had a great afternoon. The engineer geek in me got a bit of an outing as looking at the amount of thought and investment that had gone in to the design and implementation of the factory was mind-boggling. At one stage the pressings of the side panels must have missed one of the roof supports by millimetres....
Me and the 370Z - it is a far better looking car than the 350Z in the metal - I wonder if they would notice that one going missing....
It has still got a large butt on it though. The factory spoiler is a must have item.
The GTR is a big old beast. Sounds great out on the road too as there are a few running round over here.
'Ring test mule had seen a hard life...
The team who looked after us so well.
The staff at Nissan, particularly Mitsuo Matsushita, Noriko Hirayama and Fumio Ishizuka, looked after us fantastically well and made us feel very welcome – both Rich and I say a huge “Thank you!”
A grand day out!
A good friend of ours, Rich, has been in Tokyo for a bit of this week and he had managed to organise a trip out to Tochigi to see the Nissan factory out there. We met up in Ikebukero to get on the Shonan-Shinjuku line for 90 minutes or so for Ishibashi station. We thought we could get some lunch there before going over to the plant for our 1.20 appointment. We walked out of the station to be met with the proverbial tumbleweed... This was small-town Japan, big style. Things were not helped by the rain that had started sheeting down. Oh good. Well a quick wander up and down the “main street” showed that we didn't have much choice for lunch as almost all the cafés were shut...
So a random biscuitty thing with non-sweet chocolate flavour gunge inside (yes, it was as nasty as it sounds..) and a cup of stewed iced tea later, we got on the courtesy bus that goes from the station up to the factory. We arrived at the main gate and went over to the visitor centre. This looked remarkably like a car dealership would in the UK – huge windows and a few cars on display – including a 370Z and a couple of GTRs. We walked in to discover our names up on a TV display as honoured guests, which was a bit of a shock. I can't help feeling that we wouldn't get the same reception at a car factory in the UK....
We were a bit early and so had an opportunity to have a good poke around the 370Z. It is certainly a step up in quality from our old 350Z roadster and even Rich's late model coupé. The plastics are far more expensive feeling, more money has been spent on the electronics in the cabin and more thought has gone in to the layout of controls etc. The controls themselves are far nicer to use too. I took the time to have a sit in the GTR too. It obviously shares its DNA with the 370Z but it is far larger and far more aggressive looking. The quality of fit and finish are is obviously better than the 370 – but then you would hope that would be the case in a car that is roughly double the price. They also had one of the test cars on display that had been hammered round the Nurburgring – you could see from the blueing of the exhausts and scrubbed tyres that it had had a hard life. It also had its disguising materials covering the badges, dashboard, nose and tail of the car to try to frustrate the spy photographers.
It is a car that I would love to own but I can't help feeling that its abilities are so far above mine, that sooner rather than later, there would be a GTR sized hole in some scenery somewhere. Mind you, it would be a good giggle up to that point!
We were led in to a presentation room where we were told about the history of the company, history of the site, the Nissan Production Way as well as what we would be seeing later that afternoon. We were also given some safety glasses to wear in the body assembly shop. As we didn't have an interpreter with us, our guide for the afternoon did very well with the presentation and explaining what was going on in English. To say that the site is huge is a bit of an understatement! It is over 4km long and at least 1km wide with an oval test track that encloses all the main buildings on site as well as other smaller handling and ride courses where the engineers can test prototypes before they go in to production. We had our own bus for the afternoon...
We weren't allowed in to the pressing plant but we were shown the number 2 production line in entirety. I have not been in a modern car plant before and the outside of the building looked little different from all the other older metal-bashing factories in the UK. What was different was when we walked in to the body assembly shop and our guide turned the lights on! Yep – the machines work in darkness. All you could see was sparks from the welding robots in the various bays before the illumination showed the dollies that were carrying various bits of bodywork round the track of the line. The line could produce 8 different models simultaneously so the start of the line had a number of bays – one with the different roofs, front wings, side panels, doors etc etc and then the robots select which bits they need to make each different type of car. The floorpan is made up of 3 different sections that are held rigidly and then welded together to form the base of the car. The sides are added, then the front wings to form the engine bay then the front and rear bars for the roof. The cars are all regularly measured to make sure that they are within the tight tolerances required – again this all done by robots. Once all the panels are spot welded together, then the main structural seams are laser welded to make the shell rigid. Humans are involved with the final checking of the build and the removal of any burrs on the bodywork before the shell and doors are sent off to the paint shop.
Our next stop was the final assembly shop. This was where the painted body shells were fitted with all the mechanical, electrical and trim components to turn it in to a fully functioning car. The amazing thing was the lack of noise in the factory – no heavy hammering or machine noise, just the occasional sound of an air spanner for doing up components. The other main noise was the electrical tunes produced by the various drones that are used to tow trolleys of components round so that the right bits arrive at the correct car at the right time. All the work stations move with the car so the workers job is made easier and the line can move smoothly.
All cars produced by Nissan in Japan for the Japanese market are produced to order. This means that all the suppliers and the factory work to make sure that the right kit of parts, with the right extras, engine, wheels etc arrives at the same time as the correct body shell for final assembly. This factory holds no stock and all parts ordering etc is co-ordinated to the car orders that have been placed.
We were lucky to be watching the line that produces both the 370Z and GTR as well as the Skyline, Infiniti G37 and a couple of others. During our visit, the majority of the cars coming down track were either Zs or GTRs, which was good to see. The total production line length is over a kilometre before the cars are given their final functional check on a rolling road to test the accuracy of the speedometer and test wipers, lights etc etc. Once it gets the green pass light, then the car is driven on to a transporter, ready for delivery. It is certainly interesting watching 50 grands worth of car bouncing around on the rollers as the test driver gives it some beans!
We were then taken back to the visitors centre for a cup of coffee and a chat. Also we had our photos taken as a memento of the visit and were given some models of both a GTR and a 350Z. We didn't get a sniff of looking at a 370Z roadster as it is not in the public domain yet. I have to be honest and say that I had a great afternoon. The engineer geek in me got a bit of an outing as looking at the amount of thought and investment that had gone in to the design and implementation of the factory was mind-boggling. At one stage the pressings of the side panels must have missed one of the roof supports by millimetres....
Me and the 370Z - it is a far better looking car than the 350Z in the metal - I wonder if they would notice that one going missing....
It has still got a large butt on it though. The factory spoiler is a must have item.
The GTR is a big old beast. Sounds great out on the road too as there are a few running round over here.
'Ring test mule had seen a hard life...
The team who looked after us so well.The staff at Nissan, particularly Mitsuo Matsushita, Noriko Hirayama and Fumio Ishizuka, looked after us fantastically well and made us feel very welcome – both Rich and I say a huge “Thank you!”
A grand day out!
