- More than 70,000 vehicles manufactured with Japanese quality
- Complex produces March and Versa as well as the 1.0-liter, 3-cylinder engines and 1.6-liter 16V flex fuel engines
- Recently it has been tasked with producing Nissan ́s new global crossover, Nissan Kicks, at an investment of R$ 750 million
Nissan Brazil celebrates today the two-year anniversary of its Industrial Complex in Resende, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. This project is the result of R$ 2.6 billion investment, the first standalone Nissan manufacturing site in the country.
The Resende plant began its trajectory with the production of Nissan March and 1.6-liter 16V Flex fuel engine. In January 2015, less than a year after the beginning of the activities, two important news for the Brazilian market were announced for Resende: the new and modern production of 1.0-liter 12V 3-cylinder engine, and the Nissan Versa sedan.
“In these first two years, our focus has always been very clear,” said François Dossa, president, Nissan Brazil. “We are committed to delivering quality and technology in the cars and engines. Our team’s success is the result of hard work and dedication. Their achievements are the backbone of Nissan ‘s future growth in Brazil.”
Since the beginning of its activities, the Nissan Resende Industrial Complex has produced more than 70,000 cars. Currently, Nissan do Brasil has about 1,800 employees. Facilities drive a complete production cycle, from metal press, plastic injection, assembly, quality inspection and test track.
“The quality of Nissan vehicles produced in Brazil has earned the trust of domestic consumers,” said Jose Valls, chairman of Nissan Latin America. “We look forward to share Resende ‘s expertise with other markets as it evolves in 2016 into a regional producer of high-quality vehicles.”
The future: Nissan Kicks
In January, Nissan CEO and president of Nissan Motor Company Ltd., Carlos Ghosn, announced the brand ‘s latest global crossover, Nissan Kicks, will be manufactured in Resende. Inspired by the Kicks Concept exhibited at the São Paulo Motor Show (2014) and Buenos Aires Motor Show (in 2015) with great success, Nissan decided to make it a production vehicle for which it will invest R$ 750 million over the next three years.
Hitoshi Mano, Vice President, Operations and Manufacturing, Nissan Brazil, expressed that producing the Nissan Kicks in Resende symbolizes a unique moment for the brand in the country.
“Our production processes in Brazil are among the most highly valued among all Nissan from around the world,” said Mano. “We invest heavily in training, new technologies and this has been reflected in the quality of our products and in our market growth. To produce a global model, we are committed to excelling in quality manufacturing.”
A continuous improvement is a mandate for the Resende team. Recently they completed a R$ 3 million investment for a plastic paint process called wet. In it, the application of the base and the varnish is made soon after the application of primer, making the process shorter and reducing energy consumption. The robots use cartridges for painting – which uses water as a base. This reduces loss of paint and solvents, and decreases the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which leaves the operation more sustainable.
Sustainability as one of the focuses
Resende is an award-winning factory for its environmental record. In 2015, Nissan was chosen by Autoesporte magazine (a Global automotive publication) as the “Green Brand of the Year” for its environmental record. The jury took into account the company’s commitment to the environment, its innovative sustainable practices of its Industrial Complex and also the performance of its vehicles in the system of the Ministry of the Environment and of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), which ranks the Brazilian cars based on emission of pollutants. The models of Nissan’s sedans were graded A on account of low fuel consumption and high-energy efficiency.
Maintaining the use of modern technologies and with low emissions of pollutants, Resende prioritizes the use of natural light with skylights and large windows and LED lamps.
Seeking to keep these sustainable patterns, all waste generated in the plant are sent in and environmentally correct way to specialized and licensed companies. The same applies to the total of bumpers rejected in the production, which are crushed and reused as raw material in the injection process, not generating disposal. Around the complex, now with over 4,000 trees of 20 different species of local biome, form a green belt built by Nissan.
