FORD ENGINE PLANT RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE TOP EXPORTERS IN THE EASTERN CAPE

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PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, 5 September, 2011 – The Ford Struandale Engine Plant has been recognised as one of the province’s top exporters by the Eastern Cape branch of the Exporters Club of South Africa. Ford received an Exporters Club merit award at the annual Exporter of the Year banquet held recently in Port Elizabeth,…

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, 5 September, 2011 – The Ford Struandale Engine Plant has been recognised as one of the province’s top exporters by the Eastern Cape branch of the Exporters Club of South Africa.

Ford received an Exporters Club merit award at the annual Exporter of the Year banquet held recently in Port Elizabeth, with this year’s competition having seen the largest number of entries to date.

Ford 2011

The award was presented to Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) for the significant investment in the Engine Plant over the past year, which forms part of a R3,4-billion export investment programme for the upgrade and expansion of production facilities at the Struandale Engine Plant and the Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria.
“This merit award acknowledges the huge strides we have made at the Engine Plant over the past 12 months,” explained Wallace Yearwood, manager of the Struandale Engine Plant.

“The export investment programme, and the launch of full-scale production of the Duratorq TDCi component machining and engine assembly earlier this year, have truly placed our Struandale plant on the map globally, while making a significant contribution to the local economy.”

Utilizing Ford’s global manufacturing processes and quality standards, the Struandale Engine Plant has expanded its assembly and machining capabilities and now has an annual production capacity of 220 000 engine component sets for the Duratorq TDCi engine, comprising the cylinder head, block and crankshaft.

Approximately 145 000 component sets will be exported annually to Ford engine assembly plants in Thailand, Argentina and Turkey, while the balance will be used to produce 75 000 fully assembled four and five-cylinder engines.

These engines will power the next-generation global Ford Ranger pick-up truck that will be built in the Silverton Assembly Plant, which has an expanded annual production capacity of 110 000 vehicles. The new Ranger will be exported from South Africa to 148 markets around the world.

Notably, the Struandale Engine Plant is the only plant in the world that shares both component machining and engine assembly volumes for the new Ranger programme. As a result, locally produced Duratorq TDCi components will be found in every new Ranger sold across the world.


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