Lotus has officially opened a new sports car manufacturing facility at Hethel, naming it in honour of the company's founder and inspiration.
Together with Lotus Advanced Structures, Lotus' new sub-assembly facility in Norwich, the Chapman Production Centre is part of a $173 million investment by Lotus in the U.K.
The Chapman Production Centre utilises automated guided vehicles that allow staff to focus on assembling vehicles The Chapman Production Centre is described one of the most advanced low-volume automotive manufacturing facilities in the world and is already building the Emira.
The centre has capacity to build close to 5,000 cars a year, and is said to sport a new paint shop that uses automation to apply the primer, colour and clearcoat the cars that enter, ensuring an exceptionally high-quality finish, a high through-put of vehicles and perfect repeatability.
The site also utilises all new automated guided vehicles, which ensure highly efficient movement of cars-in-build on set routes around the factory, allowing operations teams to focus on assembling the vehicles. The use of the technology means Lotus will be able to quickly adapt the centre to manufacture new vehicle models as changes to the manufacturing process can be made quickly and easily.
Together with Lotus Advanced Structures, Lotus' new sub-assembly facility in Norwich, the Chapman Production Centre is part of a $173 million investment by Lotus in the U.K.
The centre has capacity to build close to 5,000 cars a year, and is said to sport a new paint shop that uses automation to apply the primer, colour and clearcoat the cars that enter, ensuring an exceptionally high-quality finish, a high through-put of vehicles and perfect repeatability.
The site also utilises all new automated guided vehicles, which ensure highly efficient movement of cars-in-build on set routes around the factory, allowing operations teams to focus on assembling the vehicles. The use of the technology means Lotus will be able to quickly adapt the centre to manufacture new vehicle models as changes to the manufacturing process can be made quickly and easily.
