Manuel Kuper takes on dual role as site manager in Cologne

On February 1, 2025, Manuel Kuper took over as head of the Cologne site in addition to his role as site manager in Emden. This dual role intensifies the cooperation between our sites and creates new synergies. The cooperation between Volkswagen and Ford in the field of electric mobility has prompted us to implement a new structure here, thereby creating tangible added value for our customers.

Our operations manager Manuel Kuper has a wide range of experience and extensive expertise for this dual role: Since 2018, he has been successfully responsible for our quality control projects for Volkswagen at the Emden site and has played a key role in supporting the launch of the ID models and the transformation to e-mobility. With this know-how, he is now further expanding the bridge between our sites in Emden and Cologne.

Synergies in e-mobility: collaboration between Volkswagen and Ford

Volkswagen and Ford have joined forces to advance e-mobility. A central component of this partnership is the use of Volkswagen’s Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB) by Ford. This platform concept allows various vehicle models to be developed and produced efficiently. The strategic collaboration means that numerous components are installed in both Volkswagen vehicles and in the Ford plant in Cologne, for example in the Ford Explorer.

A Volkswagen task force is located in Emden that is responsible for the joint supply of components. The close proximity and good cooperation with this task force saves us valuable time in our daily coordination and increases efficiency. This brings positive effects to Volkswagen and Ford, and also to their suppliers.

“Our customers benefit from this: the closer integration of our locations in Emden and Cologne enables us to set up parallel test processes and exchange information on defects and rework without any loss of time,” says Manuel Kuper.

For Volkswagen, Ford and their suppliers, this means shorter response times for quality issues and more efficient communication between our teams at the locations involved. This enables targeted measures to be implemented more quickly.

Site-wide collaboration

Since 2008, we have been a reliable partner for quality control and process optimization in the automotive and other industries. We are very pleased that Manuel Kuper is taking on this new challenge. This not only benefits our customers, but also our employees at the Cologne location.