Alfa Romeo's factory of the future

While Napoli, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, is an Italian tourist hotspot, since 2014 Cassino, an hour's drive away and surrounded by majestic mountains, has become an automotive hotspot thanks to Alfa Romeo.

In some ways the picturesque historic town is probably the last place you'd expect to find a massive state-of-the-art car factory complete with hundreds of automatic robots, plus its own bio-lake and solar farm.

But there it is.

Now I could erupt with endless factoids about the plant, like how it employs 4300 workers and takes advantage of 1400 robots.

But no, I'm not going to do that… yet.

The most impressive thing about the Italian factory? Well for starters it is so clean you could eat your dinner off the floor. And I did. Well, while gazing about slaw-jawed, I dropped an Italian version of a doughnut and cakey bits went everywhere. Nonetheless I ate it up to no ill effect. Bravissimo!

Now its factoid time
Originally built in 1972, the Cassino plant started-out manufacturing the Fiat 126, the successor to the iconic Fiat 500 – also known as the Cinque-cente, Bambino or That Cute Italian Bubble Car.

Since then, more than seven million vehicles have rolled out of the Cassino plant gates.

In 2014, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) invested a whopping €1.3 billion ($A2.02 billion) to future-proof the factory, including more robots than Star Wars, Star Trek and The Jetsons combined. The colossal renovations readied the Casino facility for Alfa Romeo’s next-generation Georgio platform which underpins the new Giulia sedan and the ground-breaking Stelvio SUV – vehicles which represent a revival of sorts for the brand.

Production of the Giulia commenced in 2016 and it was joined on the assembly line this year by the Stelvio.

Today the Cassino operation is claimed to be one of the most advanced automated car plants in the world. It can churn out up to 1260 cars every single day although it is currently running at around 700 vehicles per day (320 Stelvios, 280 Giulias and 100 Giuliettas).

If demand ramps up, so does the factory.

Make mine a twin-turbo V6
Watching the 375kW twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6 engine from the fire-breathing Giulia and Stelvio QV models undergo final assembly is a treat. And it's fascinating to observe the various models go through the production process from basic chassis rails to fully-developed and drivable cars.

There are five main areas in Alfa’s Cassino complex, including the stamping press, body shop, paint shop, assembly line, and plastics areas. Each is an amalgam of people, robots and fully-autonomous micro buggies.

Impressively, with 1400 robots and 4300 workers operating across two shifts daily, the factory can produce up to four different vehicles on the one line simultaneously.

The paint shop has been revolutionised, spinning the car body like a pig on a barbeque spit to ensure even applications of the various layers. While the shop can quickly switch to different colours as ordered by customers, this is Italy so it's no surprise to learn lots of red or "rosso" paint gets used.

Other eye-catching processes on the production line include the 'marriage' of the car's chassis, engine and gearbox to the body shell, which is completely automated and takes roughly 60 seconds to complete.

Spot welding of vehicles' internal structures is another highlight as 18 robots work in unison to complete the task in 47 seconds. It can only be described as a mesmeric culmination of choreography and exactitude.

Once each car is finished, it gets taken on a brief test drive to make sure everything's in good working order.

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Benchmarking BMW
At the Cassino plant, Alfa Romeo claims to match BMW in being the only manufacturers to achieve fully robotised door seal installation and the injection moulding of dashboards.

And Cassino is the only FCA car plant to make use of hot and cold press metal stamping, where flat sheets of metal are hit with weight, heat and pressure to form the curvaceous body panels of Alfa Romeo cars.

In the hot metal press, temperatures hit 950 degrees centigrade.

Quality control is an area Alfa Romeo was keen to address with the vast factory upgrade. Alfa says it has zero tolerance for defects, employing laser scanning during some processes to ensure targets are hit.

For every six people on the production line, there's one supervisor, hailed via smartphone but not in a traditional sense. Texts and ringtones are out, while catchy songs are in, including "Celebration" by Kylie Minogue. One assembly worker told me it's sometimes feels "like a discotech."

Playing the numbers game
Not only has FCA has invested a titanic amount of capital modernising Alfa Romeo's Cassino plant, the logistics which make it tick are gobsmacking.

Just over 300 trucks deliver parts and materials each day. Some 440 supplier companies provide more than 11,145 parts and around 80 per cent of those parts are Italian-sourced.

Approximately 100 trucks loaded with brand-new Alfa Romeo vehicles depart daily for ports and dealerships. Even the rail network is utilised; two trains per week are chock full of cars destined for global markets, including Australia.

A massive three megawatt solar farm provides much of the facility's power, while a 50,000 square metre bio-lake collects rainwater for use throughout the plant. Alfa Romeo says the factory has been carbon neutral since the year 2000, with low levels of waste landfill and almost no water consumption required outside of the bio-lake.

If the Alfa Romeo plant at Cassino can be used as barometer for the future, things are looking bright for the brand.

Carbon neutral, solar powered, zero water use and with hundreds of robots perform hypnotic dances as they produce the vehicles – all supported by automated electric delivery carts buzzing around – the Italian car maker's flagship factory is indeed a signal change is in the wind.

Related Forza Alfa Romeo reading:
Forza Alfa Romeo: Design leads the charge
Forza Alfa Romeo: Stelvio Adventure Drive
Forza Alfa Romeo: Spotlight on Museo Storico
Forza Alfa Romeo: Alfa Romeo’s factory of the future
Forza Alfa Romeo: Guilia QV and 4C Review
Forza Alfa Romeo: Tour of top-secret Skunkworks
Forza Alfa Romeo: Top seven cars at the Arese museum
Alfa Romeo Giulia 1963 Retro Review
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