PSA Adds Third Shift at Slovak Plant

VIENNA – PCA Slovakia, the Slovak PSA Peugeot Citroen facility based in Trnava, launches a third shift slightly ahead of schedule, as the factory ramps up production of the new Peugeot 208 hatchback.

The 208’s predecessor, the Peugeot 207, was the first PSA model to be manufactured in Slovakia since the plant’s inauguration in 2006. Output of the 207 was phased out earlier this month.

Volume production of the 208 started in Trnava in mid-March. Originally the third shift was expected to be launched in June. The factory also makes the Citroen C3 Picasso microvan.

PSA invested some €100 million ($125 million) to retool the Trnava factory for the Peugeot 208.

“We have installed new laser technology in the welding shop,” PCA Slovakia General Manager Luciano Biondo told WardsAuto earlier this year. “We have also introduced new technology in the paint shop. The new paint process is shorter to reduce (carbon-dioxide) emissions.”

PCA Slovakia is one of three European plants to manufacture the Peugeot 208. It is expected to produce about 40% of the 208’s total European volume.

Slovak-made Peugeot 208s will be shipped mainly to countries in the region.

“Our goal is to deliver cars to Central and Eastern Europe,” Biondo says. “The typical markets will be Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, maybe Austria and other countries in the region.”

The Peugeot 208 also has been in production in Poissy, France, since January. Volume production in the Mulhouse, France, plant will start in the year’s second half.

“Our maximum capacity is 57 cars per hour,” Biondo says. “With three shifts covering 22.5 working hours, about 1,280 cars can be produced per day.”

Last year, PCA Slovakia built about 177,000 cars, with the Peugeot 207 accounting for 55% and the Citroen C3 Picasso for 45%.

Plans call for the production of more than 240,000 vehicles this year.

PCA Slovakia will employ about 3,900 people when at full capacity. About 150 employees from the Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile Czech joint-venture car plant in the neighboring Czech Republic temporarily were assigned to PCA Slovakia because of a production cutback at the Czech plant.

According to Biondo, the average gross wage of a production worker is €900 ($1,128) per month.