Ford Motor Company’s R15.8-billion investment in its Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria is coming to fruition, with the new high-tech Stamping Plant now in operation.
This was one of its largest and most ambitious projects to date. The vast facility measures a staggering 10 320 m2, equivalent to almost 1.5-times the size of a standard soccer field (7 140 m2).
“Our new Stamping Plant is a first for Ford in South Africa,” says Rhys Davies, Site Transformation Manager at the Ford Silverton Assembly Plant. “Previously, we used external suppliers to stamp our metal body parts, but we decided to set up our own Stamping Plant for the Next-Gen Ranger, which will go into production later this year.
“With our focus on delivering the highest levels of quality and efficiency for the Next-Gen Ranger, it was essential that we brought the stamping operations in-house. This ensures that we are able to control the production quality throughout the stamping process, validate that all parts are within specification and then seamlessly deliver them directly to our new Body Shop located adjacent to the Stamping Plant.
The new Stamping facility also dramatically improves our plant capacity and efficiency with a higher level of automation, while eliminating the time, cost and potential damage incurred when transporting these parts by road.
The Silverton Assembly Plant now has an installed capacity for 200 000 vehicles a year. When running at full capacity, the Stamping Plant will be processing 272 tons of steel aper day over a three-shift system.
The Festival of Motoring (FOM) opened its doors to the public today at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit and will run until Sunday. Over the course of the weekend, vehicle manufacturers from across the industry will showcase their latest offerings, with several models having already been launched to the motoring media yesterday.
Tesla and eight other automakers say they will recall a total of about 4.3 million vehicles in China over concerns that doors may be difficult to open in an emergency, marking the country's largest automotive recall.
South Africa's automotive industry is struggling to find the specialised technical skills it needs, even as the country faces high youth unemployment.
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You can't buy happiness but you can buy cars and that's kind of the same thing.
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The Festival of Motoring (FOM) opened its doors to the public today at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit and will run until Sunday. Over the course of the weekend, vehicle manufacturers from across the industry will showcase their latest offerings, with several models having already been launched to the motoring media yesterday.
Tesla and eight other automakers say they will recall a total of about 4.3 million vehicles in China over concerns that doors may be difficult to open in an emergency, marking the country's largest automotive recall.
Chery Group, in collaboration with Wuhu Chery Technology Co., Ltd. (Chery Tech), has taken a significant step towards building a localised automotive supply chain ecosystem in South Africa with its Supplier Investment Conference, held at the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC) in Rosslyn.
