TANJUNG MALIM: Proton carried out a groundbreaking ceremony to expand its stamping facilities here on Tuesday.
The new E and F stamping lines will increase the volume of parts stamping at Proton Tanjong Malim as the company relocates production of the Proton Saga from Shah Alam by 2026.
The RM253mil earmarked for the project, will also cater to growing overall production volume as well as any new models to be introduced in the near future.
This is the second planned expansion to Proton’s parts stamping capabilities after the inauguration of the D-Line stamping plant on March 14 last year by Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.
Dr Li addressing the invitees.
Proton chief executive officer Dr Li Chunrong said the new E and F stamping lines are critical to the national carmaker's future volume expansion plans.
He said the lines would allow more flexibility for Proton to ramp up its production and meet market demand.
"For the whole of 2023 and up to June 2024, our Tanjong Malim plant has stamped out 6,067,064 components, of which 395,211 are from the new D-Line, and this number will grow exponentially when production for the Proton Saga is relocated here in 2026,”
The new E-Line will feature a four-stage stamping process with a 1,600-tonne stamping machine and three 800-tonne machines while the F-Line will have a five-stage stamping process using a 2,000-tonne, 1,200-tonne and three 1,000-tonne stamping force machines.
Aside from the stamping machines robots will also be used to transfer parts between workstations while IR 4.0 technology will be implemented using real-time data and machine learning to improve the quality of parts produced.
Additionally, the new stamping lines will help to further reduce Proton’s reliance on imported parts for its models, insulating the company against potential disruptions to global trade, and improving local parts supply.
At the same time, the investment further builds on competencies available in Tanjong Malim and will contribute towards the ongoing development of the Automotive High Tech Valley (AHTV).
Dr Li said Proton would continue to work towards increasing its local parts sourcing while moving towards consolidating production operations in Tanjong Malim.
"Aside from cost and parts security considerations, we continue to champion the government’s aim to grow local participation in the automotive industry via job creation on multiple levels," he said.
