A Visit to the Nissan plant in Tochigi Japan
Thread Starter
|
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 166
Likes: 0
A Visit to the Nissan plant in Tochigi Japan
I found the following story over on Fresh Alloy and enjoyed it enough to post it over here. This is an account of a members visit in October 2003 to the Nissan plant in Tochigi where some of our G35's are built..................
Hey all! I am a life long NISSAN fan and currently have a Murano, StageV turbo Z32, and an '01 SE/AE Maxima (of which I was contemplating replacing with a G35 sedan) and thought some of you might enjoy this story. I travel to Japan yearly with my wife, and on this occasion we thought a trip to the NISSAN Tochigi factory would be a great way to begin my process of finally seriously considering getting a G. We drove from Tokyo to Tochigi (about 70 miles north of Tokyo, man those toll gates are expensive!) and arrived there one rainy morning at the end of October. Being something of a NISSAN fanatic, I got out of the car near the main gate and started to take a few pictures. The guards at the gate immediately noticed me and on an incredibly loud loudspeaker and in an authoritative tone ordered me to stop. Hey, isn't this a public road? Sheez, I felt like they'd start shooting next!
We then pulled up to the guard shack- we identified ourselves and our names were on the list for the day's tour. When we pulled up to the reception building, there were half a dozen tour buses with grade school kids already there. I've taken factory tours in Japan before (Mazda in Hiroshima and NISSAN Murayama, since shut down by Ghosn) and know to expect school kids on these tours. There was a huge, towering INFINITI sign outside, the kind you'd see at a dealer. Inside, there were a few cars, but the kids all made a beeline for the Skyline coupe. I was also at the Tokyo Motor Show this year, and there was ALOT of interest in both the Skyline coupe and Murano. As the youngsters were ushered into a large meeting hall, we were escorted to a conference room with my name on the door. We were stunned- they were going to give us a VIP tour of the factory! A factory employee in his early 50's entered (along with two female employees who offered us tea), introduced himself and said he would be our guide. After giving condolences about the fires in Southern California (we're from Honolulu but it was touching) he said the Tochigi plant is NISSAN's largest and most important. It is enormous and is encircled by a high speed oval test track (4 miles)- you couldn't see it, many parts were camouflaged with trees but the banking looked REALLY steep. There is also an R&D area with a road course- you may have seen it if you watch those "Best Motoring" videos from Japan. Following a video, a bus took my wife and I to the factory.
The plant is incredibly vast; we past a medical clinic for its 6000+ employees,and a small 7-Eleven type store. We also saw the building where they make cast parts for the engine- the engine itself is then manufactured in another city and then trucked back to the plant. Once inside with our guide, I was amazed that they would allow outsiders like us to walk right up to vehicles being manufactured- if I wanted to I could touch the cars being made and the parts being readied for assembly. There were yellow lines on the floor that we respected, but no fences or barriers. In the initial part of assembly, the robots pound out the stamped parts and weld the body and chasis- it was all computerized, no humans around.
Next the cars go to the trim line where parts such as the interior is installed. Our guide told us that they only use male workers under the age of 30, once over 30 you're too slow and inaccurate. They use a mechanical arm to install the power seats- takes only one employee, he said in the past it would take two or three men to quickly install the seat. We were amazed that virtually all the cars being made were left hand drive G35 coupes! We did see some G sedans, M45s, and perhaps one Q, but coupes of all colors. Our guide said the coupe is NISSANs best seller in the US and every one we see is already spoken for. We then took our bus to another building and watched them install the suspension, motor and exhaust. The worker's wrenches are computerized, and document every bolt- who tightened it, when, and at what torque- it's kept on file for ten years! Even though we stood just several feet from the workers, they never paused or were distracted from their hard work. The finished cars are then started and then wait in line for a dyno and rolling test- they race the cars to over 100mph and then slam on the brakes- quite shocking to someone who babies their new cars! They get the green light and then its driven right out the door. Before a coupe got to the dyno I peeked at the odometer, it already read 3 miles! I noticed a 350Z convertible in one far corner of the factory with workers surrounding it- I asked about that and was told this factory was gearing up to take on production of the 350Z- I think that says alot about the quality of their work in Tochigi.
The tour took over an hour and at the end we stopped by the main office building, with Ghosn's office (he wasn't there that day), and our guide presented me with a small scale model of a coupe. We told our guide that the USA has many NISSAN fans and the numbers are growing. But I also told him one thing that does concern us is the paint and its tendency to have orange peel and to chip (he seemed to agree). Needless to say, I was so inspired that upon our return I reserved a pearl white AT coupe and should be enjoying it by Christmas. Perhaps I saw my or one of your G's being born that day in October! Let me assure you that the Infiniti cars are being created by diligent, caring, dedicated and very hard working people proud of their finished product.
Hey all! I am a life long NISSAN fan and currently have a Murano, StageV turbo Z32, and an '01 SE/AE Maxima (of which I was contemplating replacing with a G35 sedan) and thought some of you might enjoy this story. I travel to Japan yearly with my wife, and on this occasion we thought a trip to the NISSAN Tochigi factory would be a great way to begin my process of finally seriously considering getting a G. We drove from Tokyo to Tochigi (about 70 miles north of Tokyo, man those toll gates are expensive!) and arrived there one rainy morning at the end of October. Being something of a NISSAN fanatic, I got out of the car near the main gate and started to take a few pictures. The guards at the gate immediately noticed me and on an incredibly loud loudspeaker and in an authoritative tone ordered me to stop. Hey, isn't this a public road? Sheez, I felt like they'd start shooting next!
We then pulled up to the guard shack- we identified ourselves and our names were on the list for the day's tour. When we pulled up to the reception building, there were half a dozen tour buses with grade school kids already there. I've taken factory tours in Japan before (Mazda in Hiroshima and NISSAN Murayama, since shut down by Ghosn) and know to expect school kids on these tours. There was a huge, towering INFINITI sign outside, the kind you'd see at a dealer. Inside, there were a few cars, but the kids all made a beeline for the Skyline coupe. I was also at the Tokyo Motor Show this year, and there was ALOT of interest in both the Skyline coupe and Murano. As the youngsters were ushered into a large meeting hall, we were escorted to a conference room with my name on the door. We were stunned- they were going to give us a VIP tour of the factory! A factory employee in his early 50's entered (along with two female employees who offered us tea), introduced himself and said he would be our guide. After giving condolences about the fires in Southern California (we're from Honolulu but it was touching) he said the Tochigi plant is NISSAN's largest and most important. It is enormous and is encircled by a high speed oval test track (4 miles)- you couldn't see it, many parts were camouflaged with trees but the banking looked REALLY steep. There is also an R&D area with a road course- you may have seen it if you watch those "Best Motoring" videos from Japan. Following a video, a bus took my wife and I to the factory.
The plant is incredibly vast; we past a medical clinic for its 6000+ employees,and a small 7-Eleven type store. We also saw the building where they make cast parts for the engine- the engine itself is then manufactured in another city and then trucked back to the plant. Once inside with our guide, I was amazed that they would allow outsiders like us to walk right up to vehicles being manufactured- if I wanted to I could touch the cars being made and the parts being readied for assembly. There were yellow lines on the floor that we respected, but no fences or barriers. In the initial part of assembly, the robots pound out the stamped parts and weld the body and chasis- it was all computerized, no humans around.
Next the cars go to the trim line where parts such as the interior is installed. Our guide told us that they only use male workers under the age of 30, once over 30 you're too slow and inaccurate. They use a mechanical arm to install the power seats- takes only one employee, he said in the past it would take two or three men to quickly install the seat. We were amazed that virtually all the cars being made were left hand drive G35 coupes! We did see some G sedans, M45s, and perhaps one Q, but coupes of all colors. Our guide said the coupe is NISSANs best seller in the US and every one we see is already spoken for. We then took our bus to another building and watched them install the suspension, motor and exhaust. The worker's wrenches are computerized, and document every bolt- who tightened it, when, and at what torque- it's kept on file for ten years! Even though we stood just several feet from the workers, they never paused or were distracted from their hard work. The finished cars are then started and then wait in line for a dyno and rolling test- they race the cars to over 100mph and then slam on the brakes- quite shocking to someone who babies their new cars! They get the green light and then its driven right out the door. Before a coupe got to the dyno I peeked at the odometer, it already read 3 miles! I noticed a 350Z convertible in one far corner of the factory with workers surrounding it- I asked about that and was told this factory was gearing up to take on production of the 350Z- I think that says alot about the quality of their work in Tochigi.
The tour took over an hour and at the end we stopped by the main office building, with Ghosn's office (he wasn't there that day), and our guide presented me with a small scale model of a coupe. We told our guide that the USA has many NISSAN fans and the numbers are growing. But I also told him one thing that does concern us is the paint and its tendency to have orange peel and to chip (he seemed to agree). Needless to say, I was so inspired that upon our return I reserved a pearl white AT coupe and should be enjoying it by Christmas. Perhaps I saw my or one of your G's being born that day in October! Let me assure you that the Infiniti cars are being created by diligent, caring, dedicated and very hard working people proud of their finished product.
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 30,341
Likes: 9
From: Cambridge, Ont. Canada
They do sound very fussy and caring. I'd love to visit that plant myself.
Aren't all G's built there? and don't they also build the M's and the Q's on site?
TNX for the writeup; sounds like there's more robots there than peeps.
C.
Aren't all G's built there? and don't they also build the M's and the Q's on site?
TNX for the writeup; sounds like there's more robots there than peeps.
C.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
VatoVazq
Steering & Suspension
16
Jan 3, 2025 11:08 PM
THMotorsports
Suspension-Vendor
257
Dec 18, 2018 05:43 PM
