SODERTALJE, Sweden, April 24, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Scania (NYSE:SCVA) (NYSE:SCVB) is continuing to concentrate component manufacture in its Swedish plants. This year, cab production in the Netherlands is being transferred to Scania Cabs in Oskarshamn, where approximately SEK850 million have been invested in a new finishing paint shop and a new cab fitting-out line.
Scania has invested about SEK1.5 billion in its Oskarshamn cab plant since the introduction of the 4 series trucks in the mid-1990s, representing one of the biggest single investments in production facilities in the company's history.
"We have invested in higher capacity, improved productivity, higher quality and lower environmental impact. Initially, we will have a production capacity of 50,000 cabs per year which, if required, can be increased to 60,000 without further outlay," comments Anders Nielsen, plant manager at Scania Cabs in Oskarshamn.
Installed at a cost of SEK400 million, the new paintshop will provide Scania customers with a choice of solid or metallic topcoat as well as clearcoat finishes of the highest quality in a wide range of colours. The introduction of water-borne paints will yield an even greater reduction in environmentally hazardous solvent emissions, which were previously cut by 70% in 1995 when priming by the dry-powder method was introduced. Thus, solvent emissions from the final painting operation will be cut from 180 to 80 tonne/year, despite an increase in production volume.
Scania's programme of concentrating its European component production in Sweden began as long ago as 1996, when the manufacturing of cab frames in Meppel in the Netherlands was relocated in Oskarshamn. The process continued between 1999 and 2001, when production of the six and eight-cylinder engines was transferred to Sodertalje and axle production was concentrated in Falun. The investment of SEK850 million in a new, environmentally safer finishing paint shop and a new fitting-out line in Oskarshamn is a further stage in this development. From now on, the cabs for Scania's entire European truckbuilding operation will be supplied from Oskarshamn.
The art of building cabs has been carried on in Oskarshamn for over 50 years. The original company, Be-Ge Karosserifabrik, was established in 1946, its flagship product being the Be-Ge cab, which was of its own exclusive design. In the early 1960s, about 85% of the 9,000 or so cabs produced annually were supplied to Scania-Vabis (as Scania was known at the time). In 1966, Scania acquired Be-Ge and commenced cab production in its own right. With approximately 1,700 employees, Scania Cabs in Oskarshamn is now one of the biggest private-sector employers in the region and is also the leading engineering industry in Kalmar province.
Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 28,300 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. In 2001, turnover totalled SEK 53,000 million and the result after financial items was SEK 1,500 million. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and some 95 percent of Scania's vehicles are sold outside Sweden.
Scania press releases are available on the Internet, www.scania.com
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