Integrating Process, Material and Business Strategies to Transform a Small-Medium Aluminium Products Manufacturer

Abstract:

The transformation of Bocar Automotive Products from an aluminium products fabricator to an innovative manufacturer supplying automakers with accessory product systems has required the adaptation of forming processes and product capabilities to address the relatively small volumes in the Australian market, strategic change in the company’s target markets and cultural change in its internal operations. The strategy for developing new capability in the casting and forming of aluminium alloy products has taken place over 5 years beginning with the bending of extruded shapes, progressing into the forming of sheet aluminium alloys and the casting of bumper bar components, and finally into the integration of these processes into bumper systems for a number of 4 Wheel Drive models. This paper describes the product design, metal forming and production changes that Bocar has introduced and integrated with its marketing strategy to become a recognized innovator in the accessories market in Australia.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volumes 561-565)
• Pages: 345-348
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.561-565.345
• Online since: October 2007
• Authors: Ian Dover, H. Baumann, David H. StJohn, Matthew S. Dargusch
• Keywords: Aluminum (Al), Automotive Accessoires, Casting, Forming, Manufacture, Sheet Metal

References

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[3] M Hill-Venning, Bocar Case Study Nov 2006, Private Communication (Isle of Man, UK 2007). Fig. 4. FEA of temperature distribution during casting.