Details On The Hyundai-kia American Technical Center
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Growing automaker fine-tuning products for U.S.
By Todd Seibt
tseibt@flintjournal.com
WASHTENAW COUNTY - Sales clerks love to see Loc Perdu hit the store door.
"I go to Sunglass Hut and say "What are your top 10 sellers?" And then I buy them," Perdu said.
"I make for a very happy (sales person)," Perdu said with a hearty laugh.
Perdu, 32, is a human factors engineer at the all-new Hyundai-Kia American Technical Center Inc., near Ann Arbor.
As such, he is always buying or measuring, well, stuff. Sunglasses. Super-sized Slurpee cups. Starbucks espresso sippers. Water bottles. Dirt bikes. Snowboards. Golf clubs. Snow skis.
All to see how they fit into Hyundai's rapidly growing stable of vehicles being built in or for the North American market. And how to build a better cupholder or sunglass bin, among many other things.
Along with senior technician Tom Moco, Perdu uses a scanning laser the size of a tape measure mounted on an articulating arm to create and input three-dimensional images into a computer.
"We try to get the details," Perdu said. "Sure, you can get a 32-ounce (cup in Korea) ... but what about the lid? So we are focused on the details."
Details that include competitive products. The folks at HATCI aren't shy about acknowledging the many vehicles onsite that are being reverse engineered. For example, Perdu was also measuring the light output and color from an Acura's dash panel.
That way, when a customer survey or focus group praises the "blue" in an Acura's dash readouts, Perdu and his colleage know exactly what chromaticity they mean.
"Our job here is evolving," said Bob Babcok, manager of corporate affairs at the modernistic, sprawling research and development center, which opened in 2005. "We can feed a lot of information to Korea (and North America plants) that helps designers."
Even though the building is new, Hyundai's presence near Ann Arbor is not. Babcock noted the company has had a presence there, near an EPA testing facility, since 1986.
But as Hyundai and KIA have grown - and earned higher and higher J.D. Power rankings among North American vehicles - so has the company's profile.
In July, Hyundai Motor America sold 47,205 vehicles, a record for the company. It hasn't hurt that Hyundai's improving quality continues to be backed by a 10-year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty, and 5-year/60,000 bumper to bumper warranty.
All that has meant that Hyundai employees have to move at what they call "Hyundai speed" - which is a very fast pace indeed.
"We're building jobs here. We're creating jobs and improving the economic climate. We're investing an awful lot of money in the United States," Babcock said.
At HATCI, engineers and testing personnel cover the gamut, from meeting environmental standards to testing color shades for interior carpets to tearing down a Hyundai car to the last bolt and screw.
"The joke of the office is 'The good news is you're getting a 2006 Sonata. The bad news is you have to put it together,'" Babcock said, showing off a room wall-to-wall with wheeled carts containing parts of the Sonata in question.
Humor aside, HATCI was designed on a human scale, with big windows overlooking a rural landscape where many natural features were left intact.
"We really tried to bring the outside in," Babcock said.
source: The Flint Journal
By Todd Seibt
tseibt@flintjournal.com
Details on the Hyundai-KIA American Technical Center Inc.:
WHAT: R&D center for Hyundai-KIA
WHERE: East of Ann Arbor, off Geddes Road
WHEN: Opened in 2005
HOW: 210,000-square-foot building, located on 60 rural acres, with 100 more for future needs
HOW MUCH: $68 million
EMPLOYEES: About 150 people now; 600 eventually expected
Source: Hyundai-KIA
WHAT: R&D center for Hyundai-KIA
WHERE: East of Ann Arbor, off Geddes Road
WHEN: Opened in 2005
HOW: 210,000-square-foot building, located on 60 rural acres, with 100 more for future needs
HOW MUCH: $68 million
EMPLOYEES: About 150 people now; 600 eventually expected
Source: Hyundai-KIA
WASHTENAW COUNTY - Sales clerks love to see Loc Perdu hit the store door.
"I go to Sunglass Hut and say "What are your top 10 sellers?" And then I buy them," Perdu said.
"I make for a very happy (sales person)," Perdu said with a hearty laugh.
Perdu, 32, is a human factors engineer at the all-new Hyundai-Kia American Technical Center Inc., near Ann Arbor.
As such, he is always buying or measuring, well, stuff. Sunglasses. Super-sized Slurpee cups. Starbucks espresso sippers. Water bottles. Dirt bikes. Snowboards. Golf clubs. Snow skis.
All to see how they fit into Hyundai's rapidly growing stable of vehicles being built in or for the North American market. And how to build a better cupholder or sunglass bin, among many other things.
Along with senior technician Tom Moco, Perdu uses a scanning laser the size of a tape measure mounted on an articulating arm to create and input three-dimensional images into a computer.
"We try to get the details," Perdu said. "Sure, you can get a 32-ounce (cup in Korea) ... but what about the lid? So we are focused on the details."
Details that include competitive products. The folks at HATCI aren't shy about acknowledging the many vehicles onsite that are being reverse engineered. For example, Perdu was also measuring the light output and color from an Acura's dash panel.
That way, when a customer survey or focus group praises the "blue" in an Acura's dash readouts, Perdu and his colleage know exactly what chromaticity they mean.
"Our job here is evolving," said Bob Babcok, manager of corporate affairs at the modernistic, sprawling research and development center, which opened in 2005. "We can feed a lot of information to Korea (and North America plants) that helps designers."
Even though the building is new, Hyundai's presence near Ann Arbor is not. Babcock noted the company has had a presence there, near an EPA testing facility, since 1986.
But as Hyundai and KIA have grown - and earned higher and higher J.D. Power rankings among North American vehicles - so has the company's profile.
In July, Hyundai Motor America sold 47,205 vehicles, a record for the company. It hasn't hurt that Hyundai's improving quality continues to be backed by a 10-year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty, and 5-year/60,000 bumper to bumper warranty.
All that has meant that Hyundai employees have to move at what they call "Hyundai speed" - which is a very fast pace indeed.
"We're building jobs here. We're creating jobs and improving the economic climate. We're investing an awful lot of money in the United States," Babcock said.
At HATCI, engineers and testing personnel cover the gamut, from meeting environmental standards to testing color shades for interior carpets to tearing down a Hyundai car to the last bolt and screw.
"The joke of the office is 'The good news is you're getting a 2006 Sonata. The bad news is you have to put it together,'" Babcock said, showing off a room wall-to-wall with wheeled carts containing parts of the Sonata in question.
Humor aside, HATCI was designed on a human scale, with big windows overlooking a rural landscape where many natural features were left intact.
"We really tried to bring the outside in," Babcock said.
source: The Flint Journal
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Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Albertville Insane Asylum
Vehicle: 1999/Hyundai/Tiburon
Man, they are assholes. I wrote a letter to them for a request to tour their building.. they never wrote me back 02.gif
But yeah, When I go to University of Michigan to hang with my bro, I always see Hyundai's in tape. The latest was the new santa fe in January.
But yeah, When I go to University of Michigan to hang with my bro, I always see Hyundai's in tape. The latest was the new santa fe in January.
