Ford of Europe’s Saarlouis plant on Monday produced vehicle #11m, a silver C-Max MPV (minivan). The anniversary vehicle will be delivered to a customer in Germany.
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The plant is about to start production of the lightly updated 2008 model year Focus line. It is the largest employer in Germany’s Saarland region with 6,500 staff plus a further 2,000 in a neighbouring supply park. Ford claim that “international research studies” show its lean and flexible manufacturing processes make it one of the most efficient both in-house and in the European motor vehicle industry.
Daily production volume is around 1,940 vehicles from three shifts. Three-door, five-door and wagon (known in Germnay as ‘Turnier’) Focus models account for approximately two-thirds of output.
After reaching the key 10m mark, the workforce produced a further 1m cars in less than two years as a result, Ford said, of “great teamwork and good plant capacity utilisation”.
The first model in Saarlouis’ 37-year history was the first generation Escort, soon followed by Capri (German-built cars were exported to the US for a time and sold at Lincoln-Mercury dealers), Fiesta and Orion models. The Escort, predecessor of today’s Focus, was the most popular, with more than 6.5m units made at the plant between 1970 and 1998.
Saarlouis is the main Ford Europe plant for the Focus, which has been built there since 10 August, 1998. More than 80% of the Focus and C-Max output is exported to 70 countries. The most important export markets are Britain, Italy, Spain, France, the Benelux countries, Sweden and Poland.
Saarlouis is the only Ford facility that produces the C-Max, the sporty Focus ST and Focus wagons. In addition, the plant’s body unit also supplies parts to the St. Petersburg CKD assembly plant in Russia, and Focus coupé-cabriolet production at Pininfarina’s assembly plant in Turin, Italy.
Last year, 405,444 vehicles – 129,080 C-Max and 276,364 Focus – rolled off line in Saarlouis.
