MOTORING NEWS - Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) is expanding its operations at the Struandale engine plant in Port Elizabeth as part of the wide-ranging investment in its two South African plants announced late last year.
"We are delighted to confirm that, as part of the R3-billion investment announced in November 2017, we are expanding the capability and capacity of the Struandale engine plant for our current and future engine programmes," says Jacques Brent, president of Ford Middle East and Africa.
The investment includes the installation of a sophisticated new assembly line for an all-new diesel engine that will power the exciting new Ford Ranger Raptor when it is launched in 2019. At the same time, we are boosting capacity for the current Duratorq TDCi engine that is used in the Ford Ranger and Everest." The new assembly hall is in a fully revamped 3 868m² section of the plant and boasts Ford's latest state-of-the-art manufacturing processes that guarantee the highest standards of workmanship, product quality and performance.
Eight derivatives of the new engine will be assembled here when production starts in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The current component machining and assembly lines for the Duratorq TDCi diesel engine, which has been produced locally since 2011 for the Ford Ranger and Everest, are also being expanded.
The Struandale engine plant will become the home of all Duratorq TDCi engine component machining for the Ranger, Everest and Transit, along with expanded engine assembly at current operations at Ford plants in Thailand and Argentina.
With the additional 2,2-litre engine derivatives officially coming on line in the fourth quarter of 2018, the Struandale Engine Plant will be assembling a total of 56 variants of the award-winning Duratorq TDCi engine.
To accommodate the significant production expansion for the two engine programmes, a brand new warehouse was built. The new 5 418m² facility was designed to house all required parts, components and tools on-site to maximise production efficiency.
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