Porsche extends working relationship with Valmet Automotive
Stuttgart/Uusikaupunki.
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche
AG of Stuttgart, Germany, is maintaining its successful relationship
with Finnish production partner Valmet Automotive for the mid-engine
Boxster and Cayman models. “We have extended our contract with Valmet –
an option that was always open to us – until 2011. Our Finnish partner
will continue to provide the production capacity that we lack at the
Zuffenhausen site for the assembly of the mid-engine Boxster and the
Cayman models”, said Michael Macht, Executive Vice President Production
and Logistics, at celebrations on October 16 in Uusikaupunki marking
ten years of collaboration with Valmet.The Boxster was initially built exclusively in Zuffenhausen in 1996. Since high demand for the 911 absorbed Porsche’s entire production capacity, however, Boxster production was in part outsourced to Valmet in 1997.
Since
then, the
Finnish company has assembled over 180,000 vehicles in the Boxster
series and, in so doing, fulfilled the heavily monitored quality
requirements of the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer. The
engines for these vehicles are still built by Porsche in Zuffenhausen
and sent, together with other parts and components, by train to
Finland. Valmet Automotive is one of the world’s leading contract manufacturers. The US market-research institute J.D. Power has already singled out Porsche’s Boxster and Cayman models for their outstanding product quality and manufacturing on a number of occasions.
