KARIEGA, South Africa—Plant Kariega, part of Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA), has set a new production record of 167,084 vehicles in 2024, surpassing its previous high of 161,954 vehiclesachieved in 2019.
On Oct. 1, longshoremen went on strike for the first time in nearly 50 years. The main sticking point was, of course, money. Also high on the list of issues is the use of automation in the ports and its impact on jobs.
When US Digital introduced the E4T, a new, miniaturized optical encoder, the assemblers who processed components during production faced difficulties. To improve the operators’ working conditions and free up their time for higher-level tasks, the company developed a new system to automate a process that had always been done by hand.