tk Materials Processing Europe supplies VW in Portugal on a just-in-time basis
by Hans Diederichs
One of Europe’s most popular compact SUVs rolls off the production line in the Portuguese city of Setubal: the VW T-Roc. To produce this top-selling model, Volkswagen puts its faith in the supply chain experts from thyssenkrupp Materials Processing Europe’s unit Palmetal in Palmela, just a few kilometers away. Employees work in 19 shifts seven days a week to ensure that the right material for the T-Roc is delivered to the Volkswagen Autoeuropa plant in the right quality at the right time. thyssenkrupp Materials Processing Europe, a subsidiary of thyssenkrupp Materials Services, offers its longstanding client custom services along the entire value chain and develops them further when required to meet the growing requirements of its customer with new, tailored solutions.
“For example, based on an in-house development we have automated almost all our assembly and delivery processes to match Volkswagen’s requirements. We can identify when material is needed at an early stage and trigger new delivery orders. Volkswagen can focus fully on its core activities while we provide tailored logistics and just-in-time deliveries,” says António Novais, Managing Director of Palmetal. The basis for this approach is a clear and precise process chain which helps reduce waiting times to a minimum and enhance the efficiency of deliveries for customers. Quality of delivery is therefore consistently of the highest standard in meeting the required volumes.
Expansion of supply chain expertise
The Portuguese site was established in 1993 to supply Volkswagen Autoeuropa and has grown constantly since then. It now has five buildings covering almost 30,000 square meters. Solving complex challenges for customers and developing tailored supply chain services are core competencies of thyssenkrupp Materials Services. Increasingly, the western world’s biggest materials distributor is also managing large parts of the supply chain for its customers so that they can focus fully on their core business.
As a leading steel and aluminum service center, thyssenkrupp Materials Processing Europe, a company of thyssenkrupp Materials Services, serves customers from the automotive, electrical, construction and furniture industries from thirteen locations in six countries. Backed by many years of expertise in procurement, consulting and prefabrication, the processing specialist supplies tailored services and digital solutions for flat steel and nonferrous metals to a wide range of customers throughout Europe.
Source: tk Material Services Photo: Volkswagen