In preparation for the Puma engine programme, the Ford engine plant in Struandale, Port Elizabeth, has benefited from an entirely new assembly hall, a comprehensive revamp of existing facilities and the opening of a new training centre.
Along with the construction of the 1 720 m2 Puma assembly hall, which was completed earlier this month, the existing production and assembly lines for the current RoCam engine have been optimised using to achieve greater efficiency and improved output levels.
In excess of 100 new and refurbished component manufacturing machines are being imported for the Puma programme – the first of which arrived in March – and are currently being installed within the new and upgraded facilities. Annual capacity at the Engine Plant is expected to be 220 000 machined component sets, of which 75 000 will be used for engine assembly for the Silverton assembly plant, while the rest will be exported.
The manufacture of machining components (head, crank and block) for export markets and engine assembly begin early 2011 for the new compact pick-up truck to be produced at Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria.
The opening of the new training centre will ensure the highest levels of technical proficiency amongst current employees allocated to the Puma programme, as well as new staff contracted for the project. The facility boasts three specialist technicians that will provide training in the fields of pneumatics, hydraulics, electrical and engine assembly.
“The official opening of the new plant and Training Centre proves that the Engine Plant team is more than up to the task, meeting the strict deadlines for the new buildings, and the upgrading of the existing facilities to world-class levels,” says Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa.