Deutz AG has invested €2.5 million in a new just-in-sequence assembly center at its Cologne-Porz, Germany, facility. The 12,000-square-meter facility will enable the engine maker to respond to increasing product diversity in the wake of new emissions legislation by optimizing its assembly processes and materials management, the company said.

In the new JIS center, a wide range of individual components are picked just-in-time in the correct sequence and, in many cases, they are pre-assembled before delivery to the assembly line. Suppliers send components to the sequencing center on the day they are required, thus reducing the stocks of materials onsite. The variable components for managing materials within the JIS assembly center are available at more than 30 workstations in the form of sequence boxes.

In the future, only basic components used for all engines will be stocked at the workstations on the assembly line. Other parts will be supplied in sequence to minimize walking. The new just-in-sequence center will employ about 50 people in two shifts.