Porsche Academy opens the "Model Factory" at the Leipzig plant

Press release
Source: Porsche (Germany)

Leipzig/Bietigheim-Bissingen. With a "Model Factory" directly at the Porsche plant in Leipzig, Porsche Consulting GmbH, Bietigheim-Bissingen, is expanding its training portfolio. The management consultancy, a subsidiary of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is already running a comparable academy at its headquarters. "To meet the large demand, we would now also like to show participants from a wide variety of sectors with practical simulations in Leipzig how work flows with lean processes from the automobile industry can be improved", explains Eberhard Weiblen, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Consulting.

Left to right: Siegfried Bülow, chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Leipzig GmbH, and Eberhard Weiblen, chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Consulting GmbH, at the opening of the Model Factory at the Porsche plant in Leipzig on September 29, 2009.

The new "Model Factory" is characterized by the plant atmosphere and its practical orientation. During training, participants are also able to experience the implementation of lean work methods up close. Through a large glass pane in the Academy, they are able to view the production of the new Porsche Panamera. The manufacture of the sports limousine was designed in close adherence to the principles of virtually waste-free production. A new logistics concept makes expensive storage areas a thing of the past. The parts are delivered frequently and arrive just one hour before they are to be processed on the assembly line, as part of a system that is unique in global automotive production. Plant manager Siegfried Bülow, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Leizpig GmbH: "With lean and flexible production, Leipzig has developed into the second home of Porsche alongside Zuffenhausen." The Stuttgart sports car manufacturer has invested approximately 150 million Euros in order to also produce the fourth model of Porsche, the Panamera, in Saxony in a model mix with the top selling Cayenne on the basis of state-of-the-art methods.

The entire service portfolio of the Porsche Academy with focuses on lean management, lean production, lean administration and a continual improvement process is being gradually integrated in the Leipzig location. All seminars focus on achieving the same goal: Companies and their employees should be able to tap potentials more effectively in order to be more forward-looking and competitive.

Companies can now claim public funds for training their employees in the "Model Factories" in Leipzig and Bietigheim-Bissingen. The Porsche Academy was recently certified in accordance with the Recognition and Approval for Further Education and Training (AZWV). That means 100 percent of the external qualification costs are cov-ered by the Federal Employment Agency.