AGR relaunches production of automobile engines at Kaluga plant with China's Defetoo
MOSCOW. April 23 (Interfax) - The Russian automotive group AGR, together with its Chinese partner Defetoo, has relaunched production of automobile engines at the former Volkswagen site in Kaluga, which will be used to equip vehicles produced by the partners at joint plants in Russia.
"At the first stage, production capacity is 150,000 engines per year. Preparatory work is underway to expand capacity. As part of the development of the site, a phased expansion of infrastructure is envisaged, with a threefold increase in production space, which will make it possible to increase production to 300,000 engines per year," AGR said in a statement.
The enterprise has begun serial assembly production of internal combustion engines, the company said. Around 500 jobs have been created at the enterprise. Production is operating in two shifts, with the possibility of further expanding operating modes.
The next step in the plant's development should be the launch of machining key engine components, including the cylinder block and cylinder head, scheduled for H2 2026.
Large-scale modernization was carried out to relaunch the plant. "The production infrastructure was essentially built anew, taking into account modern requirements for quality, efficiency and flexibility for the production of modern turbocharged engines 1.6 liters (150 and 197 hp), 1.5 liters (147 hp) and 2.0 liters (197-249 hp), which makes it possible to form a full-family of power units for various market segments," AGR said.
There is an engine assembly line, component preparation areas and logistics infrastructure as well as testing and measurement laboratories on a site of 32,000 square meters. The assembly line has been modernized with the introduction of new technological operations, an expanded number of workstations, and the creation of a cylinder head pre-assembly line.
"The current level of automation of assembly production exceeds the indicators that were previously provided at the enterprise. As part of the re-equipment of the plant, nine new collaborative robots (cobots) were installed, which ensure error-free execution of the most critical operations. The cobot's operation is synchronized with the operator's actions: the system adapts operating parameters depending on the person's actions through the integration of motion sensors, force and speed limiters, as well as real-time risk assessment algorithms. The engine production process also uses modern automatic and semi-automatic stations that ensure quality stability and reproducibility of operations," the company said.
Quality control is integrated into all stages of production. Engines undergo leak testing, electronic system testing and comprehensive tests on brake stands that simulate operation as part of a vehicle. The enterprise's laboratories control the geometry of parts, processing parameters and material characteristics.
"The plant's production and logistics model has been completely redesigned, new supply chains have been formed, modern approaches to the planning and packaging of components have been introduced, and the base of local suppliers is being developed. From the moment of launch, production has been running using a local component base; key engine elements and components from Russian suppliers, including pistons and spark plugs, are used in assembly," AGR said.
