After announcing in 2021 that they planned to invest in a multi-billion rand plant where the new Ford Ranger will be produced, Ford South Africa has delivered.
This development is taking shape in Tshwane where the completion of a high technology stamping plant will produce the top of the range car.
According to ITWeb, the United States-based motor manufacturer announced their intentions to fork out $1.05 billion (R15.8 billion) in the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ) back in February 2021.
Dubbed as Africa’s first automotive city and based at Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, the project is set to create many jobs and boost the South African economy.
At the same time, the carmaker said the investment was the biggest in Ford’s 97-year history in SA.
Speaking on behalf of the company, site transformation manager at Ford Silverton Assembly Plant, Rhys Davies, said their new Stamping Plant is a first for Ford in South Africa.
“Previously, we used external suppliers to stamp our metal body parts, but we decided to set up our own stamping plant for the next-gen Ranger, which will go into production later this year,” he said.
“With our focus on delivering the highest levels of quality and efficiency for the next-gen Ranger, it was essential that we brought the stamping operations in-house.
“This ensures we are able to control the production quality throughout the stamping process, validate that all parts are within specification, and then seamlessly deliver them directly to our new body shop located adjacent to the stamping plant.”
The publication reports that the plant will see the creation of an additional 1 200 jobs to support expanded vehicle production of its Ranger pickup truck.
The company also announced that the new five-stage stamping plant is a fully automated system producing 67 different parts to meet the installed capacity of 200 000 vehicles per year at the Silverton plant.
“We have 47 die sets with a total of 208 dies producing 67 different parts, including the floorplan, body sides, roof, bonnet, doors and load box,” added Jan Groenewald, area manager for the stamping plant.
“To facilitate the movement of the heavy dies, the facility is equipped with a 50-ton automated sling crane, two 60/20 sling cranes, and a 50-ton semi gantry crane.”
Main image: Ford SA/Twitter
