The wax flooding process that enables VWSA to sell their products with a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty has just seen a R235 million upgrade at their plant in Kariega. In addition to the automated process, the new facility reduces carbon emissions by 55% in comparison to before.
Taking over two years to complete, the new wax flooding facility at the Kariega facility in the Eastern Cape has now commenced with its operations safe-proofing models from the possibility of future corrosion.
Related: Half-a-million new Polo models have rolled off the Kariega production line
Commencing with the project in January of 2020, Volkswagen Group employees from South Africa, Germany, Croatia and Czech Republic worked remotely during hard Covid-19 lockdown to conceptualise the project in its design phase. The Kariega plant was only visited for the first time in July of 2021 by international suppliers which by this stage, already had components being manufactured for it. Just over a year later and the project has come to fruition, with wax flooding operations at the modern VW facility recently getting under way.
Preventing corrosion and ensuring longevity
Used by manufacturers globally, the wax flooding process prevents corrosion by coating hard-to-reach metal with a layer of wax, thus ensuring extended longevity. Using tablets imported from Germany, the substance is melted down on site and applied to the vehicles.
The new wax flooding facility replaces the former electro-coating facility and spans 5 350m2 across four levels at the Kariega plant. The modern upgrade improves production efficiency by 25% with heating and reduces CO2 emissions by 55% for the locally-built Volkswagen Polos and Polo Vivos. This all allows Volkswagen to sell their vehicles with a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty.
Ulrich Schwabe, Production Director at VWSA stated: “The modern facility will allow us to keep building and delivering high-quality Polos and Polo Vivos for local and export customers, while prioritising our commitment to continuously finding more environmentally responsible ways to do so.”
How does a wax flooding facility work?
The process of wax flooding follows after the body of a vehicle has been painted, as certain cavities in the body are inaccessible during the painting process. The vehicle shell is first put on a hanger and heated to 60 degrees Celsius in a pre-heating oven which prevents the wax from solidifying too quickly when it is injected. Thereafter, the body is lowered onto a wax flooding frame where wax that is heated to 110 degrees is injected and flooded into the cavities. Finally, the vehicle is tipped at a 15-degree angle to allow excess wax to run off for re-use.
Watch this explanatory video here.
Schwabe further added: “This investment from the Volkswagen Group is a massive vote of confidence in VWSA as a production plant.”
