Ford is adding truck production equipment and facilities at its own plant in Thailand to meet demand for the Ranger pickup truck in Asia Pacific markets.
It is spending US$186m (THB6,269m) at Ford Thailand Manufacturing (FTM) to add dedicated truck facilities to the plant's body and trim, chassis and final (TCF) shops and to expand paint facilities to accommodate a pickup truck.
The Ranger is currently built at Ford's joint venture facility with Mazda, AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT), which will remain the company's main production facility for Ranger in Asia Pacific. With AAT forecast to operate at or near maximum capacity for the foreseeable future, Ford is adding the dedicated truck facilities at FTM facility to allow for increased Ranger production.
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"This investment and new Ranger production will help us meet the extraordinary customer demand we're experiencing for Ranger," said president, Ford ASEAN, Mark Kaufman.
FTM was opened officially in May 2012 and builds passenger models such as the Fiesta, Focus and EcoSport. The flexible plant can build up to six models simultaneously. Current installed capacity is 180,000 units per year.
The 750,000 sq m FTM assembly plant is fully integrated to support body assembly, paint, trim and final assembly. It also follows Ford's global model of sustainability initiatives and environmentally-responsible processes and systems. This includes one of the world's fastest stamping presses, and the latest in automotive manufacturing robot technologies in the body shop.
FTM's paint shop utilises Ford's environmentally friendly 3-Wet technology paint process, which improves paint quality, depth and durability, while significantly reducing Volatile Organic Compounds, CO2 emissions and waste. The plant also features an on-site wastewater treatment facility, energy-efficient lighting and use of day-lighting, natural ventilation, and use of local and recycled materials.Sold in more than 180 markets worldwide, the Ranger is a segment leader in markets including Europe, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and New Zealand.Local Economic Benefits
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By GlobalData"Thailand's commitment to the continued growth of its world-class auto industry gives Ford the opportunity to further leverage the skilled local work force and market expertise, as well as the strategic footprint that we have already established in Thailand," Kaufman said.
