Passion for perfection: Ducati manufacturing in Thailand
14/05/2018

Headquartered in Bologna, Italy, Ducati, the passionate motor bike manufacturer, expanded their operations to Thailand in 2011. On the fifth day of our study tour we visited their assembly plant that has a footprint of 45,000 sqm and gives about 200 passionate employees a chance to make Ducati’s vision a reality outside of Italy.
Welcomed by the Managing Director, we have been guided through a basic presentation about Ducati’s global strategy. They have only two manufacturing plants worldwide and produce approximately 55,000 bikes per year.
However, Ducati’s secret does not lie in volume but rather in their attention to detail and focus on creating the perfect performance bike. Therefore, Ducati does not compete with volume manufacturers from the far east but rather relies on their Italian confidence in style and passion. Their bike models such as “Monster” and “Diavel” let the name speak for itself. If you are not convinced by the name, either the elegance and perfect shape of the bike will get you or the sheer performance will blow you away.
Recently Ducati introduced a brand that gives free-spirited and freedom-loving bikers a way to express themselves through their bike – The model is called the “Scrambler”. This bike gets manufactured in the Thailand plant for sales in the entire world except for Europe. Overall Ducati ensures their quality across their organization and targets to produce their bikes in the same way, be it in Thailand or in Italy.
We had the chance to walk their production hall, where we learned that everything happens under the same roof. Spare parts are received, the frames are welded together and painted, the bikes get assembled, quality tested, packaged for transport into the local market or strapped into steel cages for export – a screw goes into the plant and one of the most powerful bikes comes out from under the same roof…very impressive.
Ducati’s passion captured our group, so that we could not get our hands off the bikes. Everybody took turns getting a feel for the machines. In summary, a very interesting morning visit. Thank you very much Ducati for opening your doors to us!
Kristin, Brian, Kai, Anton
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Setting up a private group on Mendeley to support your group project
Many of our students are busy working on their group projects. Our top tip is to set up a private group on Mendeley. You can use it to store all your references, and to share ...
Tell us what you think of Library Services!
We want our students to have a great experience during their time at Cranfield. Each month, the University runs a short “Topic of the month” survey to focus on one service or facility and find ...
Air Transport Management alumni stories: SangHo (Henry) Han, Strategic Planning Manager in South Korea
SangHo (Henry) Han is a strategic planning manager at Air Premia in South Korea. He graduated from Cranfield University with an MSc in Air Transport Management in 2018. Here, Henry talks about his passion for ...
Life on campus and studying an Advanced Water Management MSc at Cranfield
After a year of working in the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector, I started to look for opportunities to further my knowledge about water resources. Researching water organisations on LinkedIn led me to find ...
Sign up to our ‘Making your research open access’ webinar – 9 February
Do you know your green from your gold? What are publisher deals, and how can they help you? My paper acknowledges UKRI funding, do I need to do anything special? What does an author accepted ...
How the Executive Logistics and Supply Chain Management MSc improved my career outlook
Hear from Harrison Jnr Ilodiwe, Executive Logistics and Supply Chain Management MSc, on his student experience at Cranfield. Why did you choose to study the Executive Logistics and Supply Chain Management MSc at Cranfield ...