Skip to content
Inogec/Case Studies/Tier-1 automobile · Amérique du Nord
Case · 2024
Tier-1 automobile · Amérique du Nord

Replacing tugger trains with eight INO-PS units across two body shops.

Fleet of platform AGVs synchronized with the press shop and weld lines. Throughput up, floor space down, control-room operated.

ClientTier-1 Automotive · North America
IndustryAutomotive · Body-in-White
ApplicationBody-shop line feed
SeriesPlatform · INO-PS
Year2024
SiteConfidential
Demo · Video
Demo video available soon.
01 / 02
The challenge

A body shop fed by manual tugger trains.

The customer ran two parallel body shops fed by a fleet of manual tugger trains. As output ramped up, the maneuvering became the line's bottleneck.

Three problems at once:

  • Operator risk in proximity of heavy loads
  • Aisles sized for tugger trains, not production stations
  • No centralized visibility into fleet state
02 / 02
The objectives

Four measurable goals.

  • Increase line throughput by at least 30 %
  • Free floor space for production stations
  • Eliminate handling incidents
  • Centralize fleet control
03 / 04
03 — The solution

Eight synchronized platform AGVs.

INOGEC deployed eight INO-PS units in tandem mode, synchronized with the upstream press shop and weld lines. Three pillars made the project successful.

01

Press shop synchronization

Each AGV gets its mission order directly from the upstream press. The fleet's rhythm follows the press cadence, not the other way around.

IntegrationPress PLC → fleet manager
Latency< 50 ms
02

Tighter aisles

INO-PS omnidirectional motion shrinks aisles by 40 %. Reclaimed space was converted to finishing stations.

Aisle−40 %
Reclaimed~200 m²
03

Control-room operation

The fleet manager surfaces every vehicle's state in real time. One operator in a control room runs the whole system.

Operators1 (was 6)
Visibility100 % real-time
04 / 04
04 — Results

Faster, safer, denser.

+34%
Throughput
Measured over 18 months after commissioning
−66%
Floor space
Aisles narrowed + finishing stations added
0
Incidents
In 18 months of continuous operation

We replaced a fleet of tugger trains with eight INO-PS units across two body shops. Throughput went up, the floor cleared out, and our team now runs the system from a control room.

Plant Director, Body-in-White
Vehicle reference

Platform Series

The Platform Series is Inogec's workhorse — a low-profile mother-vehicle that drives under carts, fixtures and assembly bodies and moves them across the plant under its own power.

See the series
Max payload15 t
Travel speed1.6 m/s
Footprint1.8 × 1.2 m
Profile height240 mm
GuidanceMagnetic / Natural
DriveAll-wheel diff.