Volvo Kalmar Assembly
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The Volvo Kalmar plant was a production facility of Volvo Cars, just outside Kalmar, Sweden. Construction began in 1971 and it opened in 1974.[1] It benefited from Volvo Halifax Assembly and Volvo Torslanda Assembly as examples. The Kalmar plant introduced the team assembly system.[2][verification needed][3]
Production was carried out on 18 ft (5.5 m) battery-driven carriers, which held one car body at a time. The carriers were designed to swivel and rotate the bodies so that workers could access every element of the car in a practical fashion. They held a car in the best ergonomic position, to reduce work-related injuries. The carriers followed wires embedded in the floor, allowing them to move around more freely. Carriers could be parked in buffer zones, e.g., to cope with missing parts.
The plant closed in 1994.[4]
