As a global vehicle manufacturer, General Motors has been and still is one of the GROB group's main customers. The GROB group has worked very closely with General Motors, especially on the development of its joint ventures in China and South Korea. "Thanks to the framework agreement, this long-standing partnership has a new, even greater importance for both parties," says Jochen Nahl, GROB's Sales and Marketing Director. The agreement covers the total volume, up to 2015, of chip removal lines to be supplied for machining GM engine blocks, and also a number of lines for machining cylinder heads. The framework agreement, to run until the end of 2015, governs important issues, such as payment conditions, the number of modules, receiving country and the approximate time frame for the various shipments.
A classic win-win situation
The whole GROB Group is tied into the partnership with General Motors, and the company network will decide, which GROB plant will supply the various modules to which GM customer plant. So, for example, GROB Brazil will handle projects for General Motors Brazil. As a result of this partnership, General Motors has secured for itself supply capacity. In addition, General Motors will receive from GROB identical systems for all the GM plants to be supplied worldwide, with GROB getting the benefit of economies of scale in the design of the modules.
GROB modules with double spindle and the GROB gantry
After a visit to our stand at the EMO in Hanover last year, General Motors decided in favor of our double spindle, and also of GROB's new fast gantry, including the loading and unloading system. But commercial reasons were also key to General Motors' decision to deploy this technology. GROB won the partnership contract with General Motors thanks to the German company's specialist engineering expertise, the high quality of its products and its reputation as a competent and reliable supplier.
The extent of the framework agreement ensures baseline capacity utilization at GROB plants
As the projects were internally assigned to the GROB plants at a very early stage, delivery of the first modules is assured from 2013. The delivery dates scheduled by General Motors will secure baseline capacity utilization at GROB plants for the entire length of the agreement.
