JUSTIN WASTNAGE / TURIN
Avio has an immovable deadline for its factory relocation: its 200,000m2 (2.15 million ft2) site in central Turin is set to be transformed into the ice-skating rink for the Winter Olympics in 2006. "They can't hold the games in spring," says Dario Fantinati, head of the Rivalta relocation project team, "so we have no option but to keep to the schedule."
The move to a 400,000m2 site in Rivalta di Torino, on the outskirts of the city, has been planned since Fiat Automotive vacated the site in 2001. The company is spending €100 million ($113 million) on the relocation, one of the largest capital investments in Italian industrial history.
The company is keen to shed old stereotypes about Italian work habits; Avio is using the complex task of moving 590 machines and 2,000 workers, including many from its Brindisi plant, as an opportunity to streamline operations and reduce costs.
The old Via Nizza plant, opened in the 1930s, was inefficiently laid out and too small to allow growth. "The raw materials site was 1.8km [1.1 miles] from the components warehouse, for example," says Fantinati. In Rivalta, machines are grouped by raw material and component size. The factory uses one central warehouse and is served by robots, which should bring a 20% reduction in lead time and a 7% reduction in costs, he adds.
In addition, some machinery, such as the galvanic treatment equipment, was too old to be moved, and instead, the decision was taken to invest in replacement furnaces. New tools add a further €15 million to the relocation costs.
All of these factors have to be built into a strict timetable. As well as the Olympic deadline, the project management team has been concerned about its customers: "Every customer was worried about the move," says Fantinati. To avoid any schedule disruption, the old plant has worked at increased capacity for six months to create a four-month buffer for all components.
Avio has completed the first phase of the move, with the mechanical transmissions division already installed. By the end of this month, all Avio staff will have transferred to Rivalta and the destruction of Via Nizza will start, in time for an April start to rink construction. By 2006 the site will be home to displays of graceful perfection, just as Avio would hope to see in Rivalta.
Source: Flight International
