Delphi Showcases Its Most-Advanced Precision Injection Molding Center

VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Ohio, June 9 -- Delphi Corporation today showcased its most-advanced injection molding center ever. To meet growing global demand, the plant features the very best innovations and a visible commitment to world-class quality and delivery. Cutting-edge technologies are matched with an experienced and well-trained workforce to deliver 24/7 continuous production at an annual rate of 1.4 billion parts for more than 100 customers worldwide.

Building off its state-of-the-art expertise in injection molding, Delphi Connection Systems, a business line within Delphi's Packard Electric operations, further strengthens its global leadership in the design and manufacture of interconnect products for automotive as well as non-automotive applications. Taking the best practices of its nearby Cortland plant, a trailblazing molding operation that itself rewrote the benchmark standard upon its production debut four years ago, the impressive new world-class facility in Vienna, Ohio, has emerged as Delphi Connection Systems' most agile, flexible and responsive molding operation.

"We're committed to being a major player in the world's interconnect markets," said Kevin Heigel, Business Line Executive for Delphi Connection Systems. "We are strengthening that dominant global position with world-class operations like Vienna, which has redefined the benchmark for quality and on-time delivery while providing outstanding value for our customers with unparalleled flexibility and agility."

The Vienna injection molding facility took the industry-unique information technologies and manufacturing strategies of the landmark Cortland facility and significantly raised levels of quality, delivery and throughput. Its equipment, operating system, human-machine interface and automation work in harmony for energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. "Being green" is an integral part of taking out waste and putting in value.

At the heart of the operation are 120 high-tech production electric presses (and four test and development presses), with molding capacities ranging from 55 to 165 tons.

Unlike typical hydraulic presses, these advanced molding machines require less energy, eliminate special cooling and substantially reduce maintenance costs. They provide increased flexibility, accuracy, consistency and accelerated cycle times to meet customer demands.

Working within the well-lit, climate-controlled facility of 190,000 square feet, all machine operators and support personnel are constantly connected to real-time information on orders, equipment performance, shipping schedules, material and parts inventory, quality issues and more. Tooling is close at hand for quick changeovers, work practices are ergonomically sound and rigorous training ensures that all employees are ready for on-the-job excellence.

While the machines and men and women of Delphi's Vienna facility are the heart and soul of the operation, the e-manufacturing systems and failsafe material-handling innovations are surely the lifeblood. With ever-changing customer requirements and increasingly different resin compounds, lean manufacturing was a special challenge. Key IT breakthroughs ensure real-time monitoring of order entries, material needs, tooling changeovers, production runs and direct-ship labeling. Microsoft.NET for Manufacturing is the software/service platform used.

Closed-loop control guarantees the right resin, the right tool and the right press for the job. The innovative material-handling system includes central storage, drying and air-conveying resins to presses, selecting from more than 80 different resin compounds. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) pick up completed totes or shippers from presses when the operator prints the label for shipping or warehousing. The 11 AGVs smoothly navigate on an in-floor magnetic grid.

"Cortland was our model, and we fine-tuned that model beyond expectation," said Rachel Heidenreich, North America business line director for Delphi Connection Systems. "It's exciting. The right things are happening in manufacturing to make the right things happen for our customers and Delphi Connection Systems in the marketplace. Vienna marries an unsurpassed process expertise with an unwavering commitment to world-class quality and delivery. Today's customers have zero tolerance for anything short of perfection, and that's what we're well-equipped to deliver."

Delphi Connection Systems is North America's largest supplier of interconnect products for the automotive industry. It also designs and manufactures advanced interconnect components that are used in computer & peripheral, telecom, broadcast, semiconductor, commercial aviation, medical and military markets.

To learn more about Delphi Connection Systems, log onto http://www.delphiconnect.com/. For more information about Delphi Corporation and its Packard Electric operations, please visit Delphi's Virtual Press Room at http://www.delphi.com/vpr.