Gqeberha - Ford South Africa’s Struandale Engine plant hit a significant milestone this month with the production of more than 3.81-million engines comprising 10 different engine programs since it started production in 1964.
This coincides with Ford’s announcement of a R600-million investment in the facility for the introduction of a third engine program, in the form of the new 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel engine, and upgrades to the existing 2.0-litre single turbo and bi-turbo engine assembly operations. These engines will be used in the next-generation Ranger, scheduled for launch in 2022.
“Ford remains one of the key automotive manufacturers and investors in Nelson Mandela Bay, supporting approximately 850 employees at the Struandale Engine Plant, and thousands more in the total value chain,” Struandale Plant Manager Shawn Govender said.
“The 2.0-litre single turbo and 2.0-litre bi-turbo engines are modern and sophisticated units assembled on a high-tech line that includes automated robotic head sub-assembly, fully automated sealant application, along with extensive error-proofing and traceability mechanisms by means of multiple camera and transponder systems to ensure the highest level of production quality,” says Govender.
Production of the 2.0-litre single and bi-turbo four-cylinder turbo diesel engines has hit the 175 000-unit mark since it was launched in 2019 for the current Ranger line-up. The 2.0-litre turbo diesel power plant has become the mainstay of the Ranger line-up, with the full range of Ranger models manufactured at Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria for domestic sales and exports to more than 100 global markets. They also power the Everest seven-seater sports utility vehicle (SUV) which is built alongside the Ranger in Silverton.
All these engines are supplied to the Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria for the Ranger and Everest, with around two thirds of the locally produced Rangers destined for export markets.
The 2.2 and 3.2-litre Duratorq TDCi engine also reached important production milestones at the Struandale Engine Plant since its launch in 2011 for the current-generationRanger pick-up.
“In December this year we produced our 2.3-millionth machined component set, comprising the head, block and crankshaft,” Govender said. “Over the past 10 years we have machined 6.86-million individual Duratorq TDCi components. Approximately 1.4-million component sets, or 4.2-million individual components, have been exported.”
The Gqeberha plant fulfils dual roles for this engine program. Raw castings of the cylinder head, cylinder block and crankshaft are machined on-site, and exported to Ford engine assembly plants in Thailand and Argentina. The machined component sets are also used for local engine assembly.
A total of 792 000 Duratorq TDCi engines have been assembled over the same period, the majority of which have been supplied to the Silverton Assembly Plant for the Ranger and Everest for domestic sales and export markets.
The Struandale Engine Plant has also exported fully assembled Duratorq TDCi engines directly to the United States, India, China, Russia, Turkey and Italy.