Porsche: Consulting Volkswagen to modernize factories

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Porsche: Consulting Volkswagen to modernize factories

Well, I guess this was only a question of time. But it's now confirmed that Porsche is sending their well-respected consultants to the Volkswagen factories in order to modernize them.

The goal will be to improve materials handling and the general work flow, making the plant more efficient overall. One insider told Automotive News that Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking is going to send consultants to VW’s other factories, too, with the under performing Spanish ones to be first after Wolfsburg.

The goal is to prepare VW to challenge Toyota, which is on track to become the World’s biggest carmaker by the end of 2007. The irony here is that Toyota’s own consultants helped Porsche’s turnaround in the early 90’s and it’s since become the most profitable carmaker in the business. “If anyone can challenge the Toyota benchmark (for efficiency), it’s VW,” Wiedeking said. “But that requires extremely hard work, and it doesn’t happen overnight.”