Ford’s engine export programme moves into top gear

Last week marked a milestone for Ford Motor Company Southern Africa (FNCSA) when the Ford Struandale Engine Plant produced its first machined component sets, officially marking the launch of the new Ford Duratorq TDCi diesel engine export programme and the positioning of the local facility as a key player in Ford’s global supply network. This comes just over a year after FMCSA invested over R3 billion in the Struandale plant for the new diesel engine, as well as the Silverton Assembly Plant for the all-new Ranger pick-up. The Duratorq diesel engine export programme involves the machining of 220 000 component sets per year, comprising the engine head, crankshaft and block. Approximately 75 000 of these will be used for local engine assembly. The balance of the components will be exported to Ford engine plants in Thailand and Argentina. More than 100 new machines were imported for the project, the first of which arrived in March 2010. Since then, over 330 containers of equipment, machinery and supplies have been brought in from around the world.