Inside Subaru’s Indiana Plant’s drive to become the fastest U.S. Automaker (Part 1)

Subaru is known for making some record-breaking fast cars. But in an increasingly competitive car market, the Japanese manufacturer has decided it also needs to build cars faster — all while giving customers the ability to customize their ride.

It’s a tall order. Subaru has committed to a tight 24-day turnaround from the time a North American customer orders a Subaru Legacy to build the car at the company’s Lafayette, Indiana, factory and deliver it. That’s about half the industry standard for delivery of domestically built cars and much speedier than the three or so months it takes to deliver an imported built-to-order car.

“Consumers are getting used to having more and more choices when buying a vehicle. They don’t want to have to wait to get the model, color and options they desire,” says Trent Lester, group leader of CCR Systems at Subaru of Indiana, whose team is responsible for automation control and operator interfaces at the plant.

This commitment to speed is a key differentiator for Subaru given that in the U.S., 35 brands are competing for a customer base that isn’t much larger than it was a generation ago, in terms of new car sales volume. Most people still buy their cars off dealer lots, but more companies are giving customers the chance to customize, from safety features such as automatic reverse breaking to stylistic touches like illuminated footwells. Companies including GM and BMW have announced in recent years that they hope their built-to-order business will increase sales. But no one is turning those orders around as quickly as Subaru at the Indiana plant.

The 4.7-million-square-foot facility, where the Japan-based company has been building cars since 1989, has more than 17 miles of conveyor belts. In addition to the customizable Legacy, Subaru manufactures three other models at the plant, including the popular new Ascent. The typical automobile requires some 30,000 parts so it’s crucial that everything at the factory, from the giant presses that turn raw steel coils into body frames to the assembly section’s 1,600 robots, run as efficiently as possible for Subaru to make its 24-day turnaround.

Source: GE Report