Name of the Project
Ford Motor Company investment project.

Location
Pretoria, in Gauteng, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Ford Motor Company.

Project Description
Ford Motor Company is undertaking the biggest investment in its 97-year history in South Africa. The project is also one of the biggest-ever investments in the South African automotive industry.

The investment will increase the capacity at the Silverton plant from 168 000 to 200 000 vehicles a year, supporting the production of the new Ford Ranger pickup truck for the domestic market and exports to more than 100 global markets. The plant will also manufacture Volkswagen (VW) pickup trucks as part of the Ford-VW strategic alliance.

The project will entail extensive upgrades to the Silverton plant, which will increase production volume and drive significant improvements in production efficiency and vehicle quality. These include the construction of a new body shop with the latest robotic technology, and a new high-tech stamping plant, both of which will be located on site for the first time.

The plant will use a high-speed line to produce all the major sheet metal components for the new Ranger. It includes a fully automated storage and retrieval system for stamping dies, which will be housed in the roof of the facility, thus eliminating related labour-intensive processes. In addition, a modern blue-light scanner system, which scans surfaces for imperfections, will ensure that the highest-quality final product leaves the stamping plant.

Extensive upgrades will also be undertaken on the box line, paint shop and final assembly to improve vehicle flow within the plant, along with the expansion of the container and vehicle yards.

Ford will also build new-vehicle-modification and training centres – the latter will ensure that all Ford employees are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to maximise the efficiencies of the enhanced Silverton facilities.

The new investment programme builds on the recently announced Project Blue Oval renewable-energy project, which aligns with the company’s global target of using 100% locally sourced renewable energy for all its manufacturing plants by 2035, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

The first phase of Project Blue Oval is under way with the construction of solar carports for 4 200 vehicles at the Silverton plant.

Potential Job Creation
Ford Motor Company South Africa has created about 1 200 incremental jobs by reintroducing a third shift to its operations at the Silverton assembly plant.

The implementation of a third shift will increase Ford’s workforce from 4 200 employees to about 5 000 employees, with an additional 440 jobs created at the plant’s on-site service provider. 

Capital Expenditure
$1.05-billion (R15.8-billion – 2021).

The investment includes $686-million (R10.3-billion) for extensive upgrades to the Silverton assembly plant, which will increase production volume and drive significant improvements in production efficiency and vehicle quality. Ford will also invest $365-million (R5.5-billion) to upgrade tooling at the company’s major supplier factories.

Planned Start/End Date
The project will support expanded production of the all-new Ranger pickup truck starting in 2022.

Latest Developments
Ford is building a new body shop and stamping plant at the Silverton site, along with a new in-house frame line, in the adjacent Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone.

The biggest change has been a total redesign of the plant layout. 

“We’ve removed roughly a kilometre and 20 transactions [vehicle-worker interactions] out of the previous assembly line flow by eliminating the back-and-forth movement of vehicles within the plant during the various stages of production,” plant manager Tim Day has explained. 

“This will result in all of the manufacturing processes and quality checks being performed in the zone where it is manufactured, contributing towards greater efficiency and more effective quality control before the vehicle moves to the next station.”

The changes at the plant have also resulted in a new emphasis on ergonomics, with a shift from fixed vehicle carriers to a flexible new skillet system, transforming the way individual tasks are performed by employees on the line.

Ford has eliminated the previous vehicle carriers and replicated the skillet system, which is used at Ford’s leading plants worldwide, including the Ranger plant, in Thailand, and the F-150 plant, in the US. 

The skillet system is far less bulky and restrictive, and eliminates the various platforms and levels that people have had to previously work around.

With the skillets, the vehicle is automatically raised or lowered, based on the ideal height for the completion of the required assembly task. 

It can also be adjusted to suit the height of the individual operators, thereby improving working conditions for employees while improving cycle times and contributing to enhanced safety.

Another benefit of the skillet system is that it is based on a moving platform, which eliminates the need for operators to continuously reposition themselves to perform the assembly operations while keeping up with the vehicle as it progresses down the line. 

“This enables the operators to focus all their attention on building the vehicle, driving big improvements in efficiency, quality and first-time-through,” Day says.

A new box line for the Ranger’s load compartment, a new fully automated robotic station for the application of the windscreen seal and a specially designed instrument panel subassembly line have also been introduced. 

There is also a new vac-and-fill facility that integrates the filling of the Ranger’s liquids (fuel, brake fluid and engine coolant) and the air-conditioner gas with the new system, replacing the inefficient multistation configuration previously used.

The final integration of the automated wheel-and-tyre facility, launched in September 2020, has also been completed. 

The fitted wheels and tyres are now automatically sequenced onto the assembly line through the roof of the main plant, eliminating the use of trolleys and the movement of vehicles and people. 

A series of latest-generation wheel and headlight alignment booths are another new feature at the plant, complemented by a new water-test facility that uses high-pressure jets to pinpoint any water intrusion into the cabin of the vehicle.

Ford has also launched of a new customer acceptance line facility. This enables quality inspectors to scrutinise every aspect of the vehicle on a brightly lit audit line, validating the accurate fitment of parts, paint and bodywork quality, as well as the operation of all vehicle systems.

Following this, the Ranger is driven on a newly constructed rattle-and-squeak test track, which incorporates a variety of road surfaces.

A new clear-vision track has also been built. This track ensures that the vehicle’s wheel alignment is accurately set when driving on the level surface, ensuring that it does not pull to one side. 

Ford SA is also building a new modification centre, aimed at the on-site fitment of a variety of optional Ford-approved accessories. 

This facility will have its own dedicated rattle-and-squeak track.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
FMCSA GM communications Minesh Bhagaloo, tel +27 12 842 2691 or email mbhagalo@ford.com.