Waja Performance Club Members Visit Proton

Waja Performance Club Members Visit Proton

by -

Members of the Waja Performance Club (WPC) recently visited the place where their cars were made – Proton’s Medium Volume Factory (MVF) in Shah Alam, Selangor. The visit was timely as it took place during the first anniversary month of the Waja and was primarily sponsored by Proton Edar (PE), Proton’s marketing unit.

The tour group consisted of 79 WPC members who travelled in a convoy of 65 Wajas from the Petronas station near Subang airport to the Proton factory. Present to see the convoy off were the General Manager of PE’s Customer Retention Department, Azmi Idris as well as the General Manager of Petronas’ Lubricants Department, Bahrin Raof.

Each car carried the Malaysian flag and the WPC believes the convoy deserves mention in the Malaysian Book of Records as it was the longest convoy comprising a single make/model of cars which carried the Malaysian flag.

At the plant, they were greeted by Proton staff led by Zainal Ariffin Abidin, head of the NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness) section of the R&D Division. Encik Zainal also provided an overview of the activities at the MVF before inviting the WPC members to walk through it. During the 2½ tour, the visitors were able to see the advanced production processes in the factory, particularly the high level of automation in many areas. They also had an opportunity to discuss various issues with Proton engineers and production personnel and gained a deeper understanding into the challenges the manufacturer has and its efforts to offer products with world-class quality.

To provide a perspective of the greater efficiency of the MVF, the visitors were also invited to walk through the main factory which makes the Wira and Perdana. Here, they could see that in spite of a high degree of automation, there was at least 100% more manpower at the assembly line. The difference in manpower with the MVF is largely due to the fact the modular assembly is used for the Waja, reducing the number of workers needed to put together large components.

After the enlightening tour, the visitors were invited to a lunch by PE, during which time they had further opportunities to ask questions. Needless to say, Proton staff were also keen to listen to their feedback which will be valuable information for the engineers and production staff.

WPC, established in late 2000, has been a very active owners’ club which has also received the attention of Proton and support of PE. The plant visit is only one of many activities the club has planned; earlier, the members went on a drive to Port Dickson and in future, there are plans to have a defensive driving course, a competition and another get-away, possible to Fraser’s Hill.

Membership is open to all Waja owners nationwide. To find out more about the WPC, go to www.wpc.com.my .

Inside the MVF


1 COMMENT

Leave a Reply