Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa says it has assembled its 500 000th Duratorq TDCi turbodiesel engine at the Struandale engine plant in Port Elizabeth.
This milestone (the programme for assembly of this engine range started in 2011) takes the total volume of engines produced at the Port Elizabeth plant to 3,3 million units since it opened its doors in 1964.
Ford SA supplies fully assembled 2,2-litre four-cylinder and 3,2-litre five-cylinder Duratorq TDCi engines to its Silverton assembly plant for installation in the locally built Ranger and the Everest.
In addition, engines are exported to India and China to support these countries’ production of the Everest, along with five-cylinder units being shipped to North America for the Transit. Ford SA says a total of 34 engine derivatives are produced for the various vehicle applications.
The Struandale engine plant furthermore machines components for the Duratorq TDCi engines, including the cylinder head, block and crankshaft, which are used both for local engine assembly as well as for export to Ford engine plants in Argentina and Thailand. More than 1,3 million component sets have been produced since 2011.
“The Struandale engine plant already achieved its highest-ever volumes for component machining and engine assembly during 2017, and we expect to set new records again in 2018,” said Ockert Berry, vice president of operations, Ford Middle East and Africa.
“The R3-billion investment reaffirms Ford’s ongoing commitment to South Africa as a local manufacturer, exporter and key employer in the automotive sector, supporting a large number of direct jobs as well as indirect employment through our extensive supplier base.”
