AMS Podcasts

SSAB has produced and sold its Fossil-free steel, which is now being used in limited series production by Volvo. But there is a weakness in the definition of ‘green steel'. Experts from SSAB and Volvo Group share some insights into challenges this presents to the wider acceptance of these materials and how they are managing this with greater transparency.

As the automotive industry seeks to reduce costs and improve efficiencies and productivity, we are seeing an increasing number of partnerships being formed. It's nothing new to this industry but these new relationships are proving much more necessary and beneficial than previously. Two industry experts, Cengiz Kizilkan, President Global Sales Automation & Executive Director Europe for Magswitch Technology, and Markus Oerder; CEO of Magswitch Technology Europe share insights into what a technical partnership looks like and how they can deliver great benefits.

Autonomous vehicles feature systems and components are in themselves complex. And in production there is similar complexity. In this podcast we're going look at a key area of the electronic systems for these vehicles, the high-resolution camera modules. Dorothee Brinkmann, Global Market Strategy Head Automotive Electronics at Henkel offers some expert insights into the manufacturing challenges around these components.

Car makers are setting ambitious targets to reduce their carbon footprint in production operations, key to this will be a sustainable supply chain. Experts from steel producer SSAB share some insights into how the company has responded to this important requirement with the development of fossil-free steel.

Jason Orosz, President of Global Heat-treating Services at NITREX, speaks with AMS about the applications for specialist surface treatments in the latest vehicle components

AMS speaks with Karthik Krishnamurthy, global strategy and business development leader, Automotive, AWS, about the development and application of cloud-based services and solutions for the automotive industry, and how these can support managing data, avoiding silos and networking production.

Cobots are a maturing technology and have been widely deployed in automotive manufacturing operations, but as with all automated systems, advances in control systems and end of arm tooling are opening up new opportunities and applications in production processes. In this podcast, Joe Cyrek, president for Automation at Magswitch offers some insights into cobot developments and how this type of automation can support flexible manufacturing operations.

AMS talks with Cengiz Kizilkan, president of Magswitch Technology Europe, to discuss the company's latest surface adapting technology and the current trends around flexibility and e-mobility in automotive manufacturing operations

In December 2020 Britishvolt announced it had selected a site in Northumberland in the Northeast of the UK to be the location of its gigafactory for cell production. Since then, the company has been using the latest digital tools to plan its production operations as well as developing its battery technology. For this podcast AMS interviewed Britishvolt's CIO, David Threlfall to talk about progress with the gigafactory, developing the digital infrastructure for production, building in sustainable and flexible processes

Steel is still the dominant material used in vehicle production so there is a very urgent need to reduce the CO2 produced in its manufacture. In this podcast SSAB's business development manager, Jonas Adolfsson discusses the challenges of reducing the emissions in the steel making process and some of the developments and innovations the company has been working on as it targets 2030 for totally fossil-free steel.

Automation specialists ABB discuss new paint application technology in automotive applications that supports customer demands for greater personalisation of vehicles, while also improving the sustainability of processes

The constant advance of digital, communication and robotic technologies means that engineers are now looking at the ‘automation of automation'. It sounds exciting, but what does it mean in the real world of manufacturing and production? In this AMS podcast, Lucas Majewski, director, Global Key Accounts Automotive for automation leaders Mitsubishi Electric looks at the bigger picture of medium- and long-term developments in automation and explains how they can help build a better future – starting with today's issues.

Sustainability is a high priority throughout the automotive supply chain and suppliers are working more closely than ever with their clients to deliver sustainable solutions at every stage of the vehicle build. Delving deep into this we look at how developments in material science are enabling low carbon mobility in electric and internal combustion vehicles. For this podcast AMS spoke to experts from Dow, Tim Boven, MobilityScience Commercial Director and Paul Vosejpka, MobilityScience R&D Director, to get some insights into the trends and challenges in material science developments for the automotive sector.

The sustainability of the supply chain is a high priority for car makers and tier suppliers. To find out how this is impacting materials suppliers AMS spoke with two experts from SSAB, Thomas Hörnfeldt, vice president for sustainable business and Robert Ström, senior design expert at the company's Knowledge Service Centre. Our discussion cover's how SSAB is developing its business and production operations to produce fossil free steel, the changes in the automotive industry as it shifts to a more stainable future and the influence of changing consumer priorities as they consider the new electric vehicles. www.ssab.com

Last year ArcelorMittal set out its strategy for decarbonising steel production. The steel producer has now launched a number of new initiatives to support this under the XCarb brand. To get some insights into these new initiatives and their implementation, AMS spoke with Jean-Martin Van der Hoeven, responsible for the coordination and strategy of the company's global automotive business and alternative mobility solutions made with steel, and Hugo Campos who leads on sustainable development for flat products at ArcelorMittal Europe.

GeicoTaikisha, has consolidated its technological know-how and commercial position at a global level by acquiring three engineering companies. The new members of the GeicoTaikisha Group are: J-PM, a technology services engineering and project management company; PSP, which specialises in electrical controls and SAC a specialist in the development of software and IT solutions to make plants “smart” from a 4.0 perspective. AMS spoke with Daryush Arabnia, Chairman, President & CEO of GeicoTaikisha Group, to find out more about the acquisition, industry trends and technical challenges.

A key challenge for automotive materials producers is to lower the carbon footprint in the production process to ensure this contributes to meeting Paris Agreement targets. AMS spoke ArcelorMittal’s Alan Knight, head of corporate responsibility and sustainable development and Jean-Martin Van der Hoeven, head of sustainable development– Flat Carbon Europe, to get some insight into the strategies and technologies the steel maker is implementing to dramatically reduce its carbon emissions in steel production.

The paintshop is an area of the vehicle production process that is under constant pressure to improve throughput and efficiency, while reducing materials and energy consumption. The new generation of electric vehicles and the need to improve the environmental sustainability of the painting process, have added to these challenges. To get some insight into how vehicle makers are having to adapt, Nick Holt spoke to Dennis Taljan, general manager for PPG’s Automotive OEM services division. www.automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com

Investing in the future In this episode AMS editor Nick Holt talks to Ian Foley, managing director at electric vehicle powertrain developer and manufacturer, Equipmake. Ian discusses managing his teams through the Covid-19 crisis, investing in more in-house manufacturing and shares his thoughts on the future of EV powertrain production. Episode 6 is produced and presented by Nick Holt.

Episode sponsored by SSAB www.docol.com The AMS Podcast returns with a three-part bumper episode. This first instalment comes from the compact confines of a new, Burnaston-built Toyota Corolla hybrid and the team discuss the OEM's position in a UK market freewheeling into Brexit. Sticking with Toyota, deputy editor Gareth Price talks about his visit to OEM's joint venture facility with PSA in the Czech Republic. The TPCA factory produces a trio of platform-sharing city cars – a popular segment in recent years but one that faces an uncertain future. AMS Podcast Episode 05 Pt 1 is produced and presented by the AMS editorial team, Nick Holt and Michael Nash. www.automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com

AMS Editor Nick Holt describes his visit to Ovako’s steel foundry in Sweden where high strength engineering steel for long products is made, while Assistant Editor Michael Nash talks about his tour of Russia which included visits to Volkswagen and Volvo Trucks plants. AMS Podcast Episode 04 is produced and presented by the AMS editorial team, Nick Holt and Michael Nash. www.automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com

With absolutely no apologies for quoting Slade, AMS Editor Nick Holt and AMS Deputy Editor Gareth Price see this Christmas as the ideal time to look back at a selection of topics featured in AMS magazine during 2018. But this is no nostalgia trip as the past 12 months have given us ample opportunity to see how automotive manufacturing is shaping up for future demands. Nick talks about his visit to the BMW C Evolution electric scooter assembly plant in Berlin and recalls some of the material science advances being explored by Covestro. Gareth talks about his visit to the historic Rouge Center, part of Ford real estate for more than a century but a truck plant shaped for modern times. We also look at how Industry 4.0 techniques such as 3D printing and wearable tech is continuing to change the landscape of automotive manufacturing around the world. AMS Podcast Episode 03 is produced and presented by the AMS editorial team, Nick Holt and Gareth Price.

We focus on emobility for this episode as Gareth Price sheds light on Volkswagen's Transparent Factory. The unconventional facility in Dresden repurposed to assemble the eGolf is also a showcase for the VW’s e-mobility philosophy. We hear too from Mike Nash and his visit to Honda's manufacturing facilities in Indiana. The plant recently began production of the 2019 Insight hybrid model, one of five electrified vehicles Honda has launched in just the past 18 months. The company is striding hard into emobility as, by 2030, Honda wants two-thirds of its global sales to be electrified vehicles. In the second half of this episode, we look at how the automotive industry's powertrain component suppliers are responding to the technological shift brought about by electrification. Is the noise around the battery electric vehicle drowning out the real story, one which sees the internal combustion sticking around for a couple more decades, made cleaner and more efficient by innovation? Gareth Price speaks to some of the key players from powertrain component supply sector; Borg Warner, Federal Mogul, Delphi and Honeywell. The onset of the electrified age has sparked hybrid innovations – so there's plenty life yet in the internal combustion engine... AMS Podcast Episode 2 is produced and presented by the AMS editorial team, Nick Holt, Gareth Price and Michael Nash.

Start of production – AMS Podcast Episode 01 The very first AMS podcast rolls off the assembly line and the team discuss two giants of the automotive manufacturing, Toyota and Ford. AMS editor Nick Holt talks about his visit to Toyota’s Valenciennes facility in France, a plant undergoing a dual transformation – upgrading lines for the new TNGA platform plus shifting its focus from diesel variants to hybrid electric models. Turkey was the topic for AMS assistant editor Michael Nash, who fills us in on his trip to the Transit, Custom and Courier van production at the three sites that make up Ford Otosan. Recorded from the comfort of a Castle Bromwich-built Jaguar XE R Sport, Episode 1 is produced and presented by the AMS editorial team, Nick Holt, Gareth Price and Michael Nash.

The impact of robotics on society – robotics in everyday life – issues with the use of robotics – robotic “governance” and the sustainable use of robotics

Digitalisation in combination with robotics and automation – Internet of Things, Industry 4.0 and cyber-physical systems – the convergence of information technology and operational technology

The future of robotics and automation over the next 25 years – predicting a robotic future – “robotic-immigrants” becoming “robotic-natives” – how robotics will change the world.