[libranof1987]

Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM), a unit of Tata Motors, acquired the erstwhile Ford Motor Company manufacturing plant at Sanand, Gujarat, in January 2023. The plant has undergone significant re-tooling and now produces one of Tata Motors' blockbuster product, the Nexon.



Ford announced its intention to exit the Indian market in 2021 as part of its global restructuring strategy. The company put several of its assets on the block. As Ford wound up its operations in the country, there was a lot of interest in the future of its manufacturing plants, especially the bigger centres such as Chennai and Sanand.



With several suitors pursuing these assets over the course many months post Ford's departure, the plant eventually was bought by Tata, with the deal being finalized on 10 January 2023.



The plant is about an hour's drive from Ahmedabad. It is spread across 460 acres and houses the various divisions:
1) Press Shop
2) Body Construction
3) Paint Shop
4) Final Assembly



Tata PEM has spent over Rs. 1,300 crore in the re-tooling of the plant, with much of this coming through upgrades to the robots and automation over each of the four divisions.



The plant's current capacity is ~3 lakh units annually, which can be scaled up to 4.2 lakh units.



Manufacturing commenced on 10 January 2024 and the new-look Tata PEM Sanand plant is now the birthplace of what has come to be one of Tata's most successful cars, the Nexon. Not just the ICE variant, but the EV as well!

[libranof1987]

Stamping / Press shop

The journey of automobile manufacture begins here... with just a sheet of steel:


Each sheet is tested thoroughly for thickness, integrity and other parameters:


Raw steel is cast into various individual body panels by dies, with the help of hydraulic presses:




Each panel then undergoes trimming...


...and is checked for conformity to design parameters with the help of several sensors:




All the manufactured panels are then stacked, ready to be sent over to the weld shop:


Panels are also randomly chosen for a detailed audit, wherein an in-depth analysis of every parameter is carried out:


The stamping / press shop has an automation of ~80%.

[libranof1987]

Weld shop

The weld shop is where everything, proverbially, comes together. Individual body panels are brought in through different conveyor belts and are welded together.

The weld shop is exquisite poetry with delightful music playing in the background, in motion. Operating at an astounding 98% automation, the weld shop is essentially, run by an army of robots, aided by a regiment of cameras and sensors, ensuring a very high level of precision.

The robots set to receive the panels:


Once the panel is received, it uses cameras and sensors to ensure alignment:




First, the side frames are welded to the floor:




That creates the basic shell:


The roof is then welded to this shell. The shell then undergoes rigorous testing to ensure welding has been carried out perfectly:


Once the work by the robots is complete, the doors, bonnet and hatch are added to the shell:

[libranof1987]

Paint shop

Once the shell of the car is ready, it hops over to the adjoining building that houses the paint shop. The shell then spends the next 7-8 hours here receiving several coats of paint. With 50% automation, the paint shop has distinct areas that are run either entirely by robots or entirely by humans.

First, the primer - an electrophoretic deposition coating with the help of a 360-degree rotational dip...


...to provide the body shell with an anti-rust coat. All shells go through this process:


Next, the shell gets painted with a base coat and then a top coat. Multiple (typically, six or eight, depending on the setup) robots first paint the interior portions of the car...


...followed by the exterior:


Dedicated robots have hooks to open and close the doors, hood and hatch during the painting process. It is common for the paint shop to paint cars of different colours one after the other:


The paint shop follows a wet-on-wet process, eliminating the need for multiple baking sessions to dry the paint:


The car then gets a layer of clear coat. It then goes off to the heat chamber for the baking process.

If the car paint scheme is a dual tone, the shell goes through the painting process twice! The roof is painted first and the rest of the body is skipped. The shell then returns to the conveyor belt right after the primer stage. Workers will mask the roof completely with plastic and tape, and the rest of the shell then goes through the normal painting process.

At the next stage, humans take over from the robots as the shell receives a layer of wax on the main welding points:


This is also where any coloured stickers are applied on the body shell e.g. the black tape running on the top of the doors on the Nexon:


At the end of this process, all the points on the shell which are exposed to water / can serve as an entry point for seepage, such as the roof - A / B / C pillar joints and near the dashboard, are checked for paint integrity through infrared radiation.

The shell then moves to the final assembly area, where it gets all the fitments:

[libranof1987]

Final Assembly

The venue for the "marriage": where the engine components are fitted onto the body shell.

The body shell moves along the main conveyor belt and the engine components are brought through a parallel belt. With precise positioning, the engine is then bolted onto the body shell:


The shell, now more of a car than ever, starts receiving various mechanical and electrical components:






On the home stretch, the car gets fitted with all the trims and electronics.

Wheel well cladding going in:


The car then goes through an inspection, where every aspect of fit and finish is tested:


Once all the fitments are in, the car goes for a final quality check:








Once off the "official" assembly line, it goes for wheel alignment and then a brake check, along with an electronics check...




...followed by a shower test:


It then hops over to the high-speed test track and is finally lined up in the stockyard for transportation.

Cars are randomly selected for an expert customer inspection and audit, wherein they have typical paying (trained) customers come in to evaluate the car and give feedback:

[libranof1987]

People

Tata PEM has put a lot of focus on the "people" aspect of the plant, right from offering to absorb all ex-Ford employees working at the plant, to setting up continual learning plans for all employees.



One of the most critical aspects of any merger or acquisition is the integration of the workforce. M&A activity, a complete sale no less, typically creates a lot of uncertainty for the employees involved and it starts with them wondering if they'll still have a job.

When Tata decided to buy the plant from Ford, they offered all the employees working at the plant, employment with Tata PEM. Of the 1,000+ employees who were on Ford's roll, 850+ took up employment with Tata. Tata then conducted several onboarding programs to achieve cultural integration.

All the employees at the Tata PEM plant hold a degree, and can enrol in a program for higher education. Those who have completed a course from an ITI are eligible for a Diploma course, those with a Diploma are eligible for a B. Tech degree. Those with a B. Tech, are eligible for the M. Tech course.

To that effect, Tata PEM has set up Nalanda, an in-house training facility:


The Nalanda training centre is supported by faculty from Ganpat University and boasts of seven classrooms that can accommodate up to 500 students. It offers courses on subjects such as new-age manufacturing technologies, systems and processes. All the theoretical learning is carried out on campus, and practical sessions are held in labs at Ganpat University:


Employees partake in these courses post their shift, and typically have classes for ~three hours each day:


Disclaimer: Tata invited Team-BHP for a visit to the plant. They covered all the expenses for this event.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Blue Express]

Astounding thread, felt like I'm actually in the factory floor! Kudos to the detailed write up. Just wanted to understand, are the engines assembled elsewhere, or that too happens in this Sanand plant?

[amoi]

I have been to this plant during a college visit just a couple of months ago!

We observed the production of the tiago/tigor from start to finish.
The most impressive part was the production line itself. TAMO has somehow managed to make a factory where :

• 2 body styles [sedan and hatch]
• 3 powertrains [Gasoline, CNG and EV]
• N number of variants

are manufactured on the same production line !

[CEF_Beasts]

Surprising to see no one has a safety helmet on the shop floor, this was not the case at TML Pune !!

Seeing these pictures rekindled some fond memories of my time spent at TML Pune, where I got to see everything right from the Press Shop to the QC / Final Testing stage of cars like the Punch, Altroz, Nexon (BIW Only), Harrier and Safari. Altroz and Punch were assembled on one assembly line meanwhile the Harrier and Safari on another.

If I’ve understood it right, the Nexon EV is assembled in Sanand meanwhile the ICE version is made till the BIW (Body-In-White) stage at TML Pune from there for the TCF (Trim, Chassis and Final) fitment it is sent to the Ranjangaon FCA Plant.

[i10_sanjay]

After all there are N number of sensors, humans testing the cars at various stages and some customers giving feedback. Still the panel gaps, electronics and various deficiencies ranging from Paint quality, electrical and mechanical components falling off, improper fitment of screws & bolts and software issues are pathetic to say the least!

Hope TML learns a lesson or two from their Ford acquisition.

[qaqa]

Great to see TaMo operate a state of the art plant, that too with a Ford trained work force !

Now that Tata has the backing of a modern plant, is there a discernable improvement in the quality, fit and finish of Tata cars ? Hoping that the cars from the Sanand plant would be much better than those from the legacy Ranjangaon one.

Also I was under the impression that Punch EV production had also moved to Sanand. Is that not the case?

[Rohitthebest]

Wow, awesome thanks for the detailed post especially amazing pictures.
It's a dream for me to visit one of the assembly lines big time that too of a car manufacturer. Finally have some contacts with one a very a Sr Management employee of a car company in Pune who might make me fulfil my childhood dream of visiting one. Would love to see it in personal.
Let me see if I can speed my visit up and if at all they allow to let us take pictures.
This was simply amazing.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Blue Express

Astounding thread, felt like I'm actually in the factory floor! Kudos to the detailed write up. Just wanted to understand, are the engines assembled elsewhere, or that too happens in this Sanand plant?

Thanks!

From what we were told, engine production does not take place at this plant; perhaps powertrains are brought in from the Tata Motors in Sanand.

Originally Posted by amoi

I have been to this plant during a college visit just a couple of months ago!

Looks like you went to the Tata Motors plant that is also in Sanand. This is the Tata Passenger Electric Mobility plant that Tata took over from Ford. As of now, they manufacture only the Nexon ICE and EV.

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

If I’ve understood it right, the Nexon EV is assembled in Sanand meanwhile the ICE version is made till the BIW (Body-In-White) stage at TML Pune from there for the TCF (Trim, Chassis and Final) fitment it is sent to the Ranjangaon FCA Plant.

Nexon may also be produced in Pune, but this plant (Tata Passenger Electric Mobility) manufactures the Nexon ICE and EV variants.

Originally Posted by qaqa

Great to see TaMo operate a state of the art plant, that too with a Ford trained work force!

Tata mentioned that they have spent a great deal of effort in integrating the ex-Ford workforce into TPEM. They also have several non-Ford employees at the plant.

Also I was under the impression that Punch EV production had also moved to Sanand. Is that not the case?

Not at this TPEM plant; perhaps at the Tata Motors plant, also at Sanand?

Originally Posted by Rohitthebest

Wow, awesome thanks for the detailed post especially amazing pictures.
It's a dream for me to visit one of the assembly lines big time that too of a car manufacturer.

Thanks!

I hope you manage to visit one soon. Watching vehicle production is a sight to behold. This is my second visit to an assembly line, and each time, I am astounded at how beautifully machines work together and with tremendous precision. Automation is magic!

[TheStoryweaver]

A question. Are you allowed to have a q&a with the management? And if yes, what were the questions you posed to them.?
Additionally, prima facie what did you feel looking at the assembly line and the way workforce is working on the lines, Is company pro-actively diligent to deliver high quality products and improving constantly?
From a consumer and an enthusiast perspective , certain reports and videos, showcase certain hits and misses with the cars in terms of quality and fit and finish originating from assembly line itself. It puts cynicism when recommending or considering tata cars to a certain extent.

I will be happy to have a good answer about it