– The cult brand’s compact SUV will also be built in Italy in the future. – Test phase also begins with plug-in hybrid model, which marks the next step in the electrification of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) vehicle range. – Production starts in the first quarter of 2020, followed by the plug-in hybrid variants of the Jeep Compass and Jeep Renegade.
– FCA Melfi plant celebrates its 25th birthday. Innovative “Plant Academy” provides ideas and ensures employee training specifically for the production of electric vehicles.
– Experiences are also available at other FCA locations.
– Expansion of production at the Melfi plant is part of the investment plan for Italy for the years 2019 to 2021, which also includes further electrification according to the respective strategies of the FCA brands and the creation of a special team for electromobility.
With the opening of a new production facility for the Jeep® Compass at the Melfi plant is a symbolic bridge between the past and the future for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). The factory was opened exactly 25 years ago in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, around 170 kilometers east of Naples. Since then, more than 7,4 million vehicles have rolled off the production lines here. In the future, the Jeep Compass - including the new plug-in hybrid model - will also be part of this. The series was previously built in Mexico for the European market.
The Jeep Renegade has been manufactured at the Melfi plant, one of the world's most modern automobile factories, since 2014. Around 900.000 units of the B-segment SUV have left the factory since then. The current expansion of production confirms FCA's technological innovation strength and is the next step in the investment plan for Italy that the company has decided on for the years 2019 to 2021 with a total volume of five billion euros. At the same time, it strengthens the global role of the Jeep Compass. Production is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2020. Soon after, the range of models built in Melfi will be expanded to include the plug-in hybrid variants of the Jeep Compass and Jeep Renegade. This step will enable the US cult brand to respond more quickly to the wishes of European customers and to developments in the European markets.
The start of production of the Jeep Compass at the Melfi plant is part of a wide-ranging model offensive. In the next few years, FCA will present a total of 13 completely new or extensively modernized models. Electrification will also be further advanced with the presentation of twelve electric vehicles - either completely new or based on existing series. The production of plug-in hybrid variants of the Jeep Compass and Renegade models is already being prepared at the Melfi plant, while at the same time the Mirafiori plant is being modernized for the production of the battery-electric Fiat 500 BEV and the hybrid and electric models from Maserati - which are also manufactured in Modena. And finally, the plan also includes the production of the Fiat Ducato Electric van and the new Alfa Romeo Tonale in Italian plants.
When production of the Jeep Renegade began in 2015, the "Plant Academy" was launched at the Melfi plant, a concept for developing innovative ideas and training employees. As a key contribution to FCA's electrification strategy, this model has since been transferred to a number of other FCA plants. Concepts such as the "Plant Academy" make the Melfi plant the ideal location for the production of the Jeep Compass and Renegade models for the EMEA economic area, including the first variants with plug-in hybrid technology. Jeep is thus opening a new chapter in its history, which in turn stands for the brand's core values: freedom, adventure, authenticity and passion.
The Melfi plant was not only chosen because of its location. Another decisive factor was the alignment of important values between the factory and the Jeep brand, including the ongoing pursuit of high quality workmanship and technological innovations. The Melfi plant also has many similarities with the Jeep Compass manufactured there, which also competes in the largest and fastest-growing vehicle segment with innovative plug-in hybrid technology. Compact SUVs currently account for around 45 percent of all SUV purchases in Europe. Production is expected to exceed the current level of 2,5 million units per year in the future.
With production facilities in Mexico, Brazil, China, India and, in the future, Italy, the Jeep Compass – including the plug-in hybrid variant in particular – is a global model. The connection of the SUV, presented in 2017, to the EMEA economic area and to Europe is a special one. The Jeep Compass was the brand's first model to be considered specially developed for the European market. This strategy forms the basis for the commercial success of the series. With more than 78.000 units sold in the EMEA economic area, the Jeep Compass accounted for more than 2018 percent of the brand's total sales in 40. Together with the Renegade, the Compass is Jeep's best-seller in Europe. In Italy, the Jeep Compass is at the top of its segment. In the country, one in three SUVs sold in the C segment is a Jeep Compass. The new plug-in hybrid model will help to expand this success even further.
The Compass model plays a crucial role in Jeep's market strategy, supported by major investments. Examples of this include the launch of the unique Trailhawk model variant - the C-segment SUV with the best off-road capabilities - and the upcoming launch of the first plug-in hybrid in the range. The expansion of production in Melfi is a further step in this direction, complemented by the manufacturing quality of the FCA plant in southern Italy. Melfi also produces the first B-segment model in the history of the Jeep brand, the Renegade. This range has played a key role in the 330 percent increase in sales that Jeep has achieved in the EMEA economic area over the past five years.
FCA is thus continuing to consistently pursue its strategy of not only electrifying its entire range, taking brand-specific requirements into account, but also setting up a special team for electromobility that will introduce customers to this pioneering technology in new ways. Among other things, FCA is developing an automotive ecosystem that makes it possible to use an electric vehicle in everyday life in a comfortable, sustainable and inexpensive way. As part of this strategy, it is also necessary to conclude cooperation agreements, as has already been done with Enel X, Engie, Terna, Transatel, Lexis Nexis and Generali, among others. The aim is to enable potential customers to choose the electric vehicle that is best for them and to offer accompanying services.
25 years of the Melfi plant – the record factory takes a leading role in the electrification process at FCA
Since 1994, around 7,4 million vehicles have been manufactured at the Melfi plant in southern Italy, mainly of the Fiat brand. In 2015, the factory, which is one of the most modern of its kind in the world, was modernized for the start of production of the Fiat 500X and Jeep Renegade with an investment volume of more than one billion euros. In addition to these two series, from 2020 the Jeep Compass and various models with plug-in hybrid technology will also be produced in Melfi, which play a key role in FCA's electric vehicle strategy.
The plant, built between 1991 and 1993, now covers 1,9 million square meters and has around 7.300 employees, of whom around 4.000 work in assembly. The site houses a body shop with five presses, a paint shop and assembly. The machine park includes 860 robots in the body shop, 54 robots in the paint shop and 278 automated assembly stations.
The Melfi plant is a prime example of technological and organizational evolution in automotive manufacturing. It was one of the first integrated factories in which many work steps and responsibilities were decentralized. Over the years, the plant has been transformed into a modular factory and a network factory, always following the principles of so-called lean production to improve competitiveness. Today, the Melfi plant is structured as a digital factory that exploits the opportunities of the Industry 4.0 era. In this way, manufacturing processes, organization, technology and workforce are optimally integrated into the overall system.
The “Plant Academy” – looking for talents and innovative ideas for electrification
25 years of experience, always striving for improvement - the Melfi plant is constantly evolving into a future that will bring new models, innovative technologies, further development and electromobility. Part of this future is the "Plant Academy", a training center founded in 2015 for the path to Industry 4.0. The academy was created as an experimental breeding ground for ideas and human talent so that they can fully exploit their individual potential. The primary goal is to increase the competitiveness, profitability, product quality and innovative power of the factory.
The "Plant Academy" started with the task of analyzing the personnel organizational structure of the plant and the role of each individual employee in order to perform each function in the best possible way. The second step was to work on a knowledge database. Each function within the plant was assigned a training package, compiled from the experience and know-how of the best employees in each area. Next, methods were developed to expand the skills of employees, for example those in management positions. This included developing assessment methods and development steps that encourage and train employees who are to take on more responsibility in the future. In this way, hidden talents could be discovered and their development supported. To date, 119 promotion paths and more than 300 training modules have been developed.
These training modules include alternating phases of theoretical instruction, simulation, testing and practical application. Based on production figures and annual plans, the plant management draws up specifications each year, which are then implemented by the Plant Academy employees in suitable training modules. At the Melfi plant, new technologies and new skills go hand in hand because employees are first trained in simulation. The Plant Academy offers four topics: virtual process simulation, reproduction of logistics processes, digital and technical areas. All are implemented in the simulation phase, for training as well as for testing innovative solutions.
The "Plant Academy" at the Melfi plant offers a working environment in which employees and their creativity are the focus. Ideas can be presented and skills applied without regard to hierarchy and position. In 2018 alone, around 5.000 ideas were presented and discussed by employees. Even the layout of the "Plant Academy" is unusual for an automobile factory. The rooms could also be found in an internet company in Silicon Valley in California. They offer colorful furniture, teaching materials somewhere between video games and high-tech applications, screens almost everywhere and numerous relaxation rooms. All of the furniture was made in the plant from recycled materials, with the skills and passion of the employees. The academy area in the plant is completed by adjacent classrooms and laboratories that guarantee short distances between theory and practical simulation. All training content from Melfi is also available to all other FCA plants thanks to a digital archive. The academy itself has also taken on a pioneering role - many other FCA plants have now founded their own "Plant Academy".
