Ten things we learned at Suzuki’s biggest production plant

It was off to India to drive the next Suzuki Swift, but here is the thing: I am not at a point of telling you how the car looks or how it drives, but yes, I drove it.

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As part of the launch, we had a jol in Manesar, Suzuki’s biggest production plant situated in the state of Haryana in India.

The plant was established in 1981, and production began in 1983 with the Maruti 800.

Here are ten things that took us by surprise at the Manesar Plant.

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1. The Manaesar plant is Suzuki’s biggest production plant, which consists of three plants, namely A, B,C, whereby plant A (started in 2006) manufactures the Suzuki Ciaz and DZire. Plant B, which started in 2011, is where the Suzuki Baleno and Ciaz are made. Plant C was started in 2013, and that is where the Suzuki Alto, Celerio and Alto 800 are manufactured.
   

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2. The plant has an estimation of 1 800 truck deliveries every day.
3. There is space to park all manufactured cars at the premises with a capacity of 27 000.
4. The process of manufacturing all Suzuki cars involves five steps:

• Press shop – this is where sheet metal is integrated into the manufacturing process and the first shapes of the later vehicle are created.
• Welding – this is where the car is given its shape and prepared for other production processes.
• Paint – this is where the welded body is painted accordingly.
• Assembly – at this stage, the car doors, windows, dashboards, suspensions and engines are fitted.
• Inspection – this last process speaks for itself. Qualified personnel check if everything is in good condition including water and suspension checks.

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5. There are more than 370 checks per vehicle (Suzuki says it puts its customers first).
6. Unlike other manufacturers where the steel that they use to make their cars is imported, 85% of the steel is local.
7. The plant currently uses 70 000 litres of paint per day which equals to 1.8 million litres per month.
8. Every 60 seconds, a new car rolls off the production line at the plant.
9. Suzuki has more than 20 joint ventures; e.g Bosch could be supplying it with car parts.
10. Production at the plant happens six days a week.