Where is the plant which produces Ford cars?
The big company Ford is world famous, it deservedly has the third place in the number of manufactured cars. In Europe, these cars occupy the second position in the sales ranking. And it is not surprising, because the car has a modern design, is characterized by quality assembly and high performance.
Before we understand where to assemble Ford Explorer, it is necessary to clarify that the times when German cars were assembled only in Germany, and Japanese – in Japan, passed. Now the manufacturer’s plants may be located in any country in the world.
Every continent has a plant where Ford cars are produced. The company’s competent policy, namely the decision to be present in all key countries, has led to lower prices for cars. These model lines differ significantly. For example, cars made for South Africa are not like models which can be purchased in Russia. And consumers in the U.S. can enjoy unique cars at all.
Production of the company
It is important to note that this very company was the first to use an assembly line for manufacturing and assembling cars. This solution reduced manual labor and increased production volume.
The company’s production is concentrated in the following countries:
- U.S.A. – here the firm began its rapid development;
- Germany – the German plant is engaged in full-scale manufacturing, including design;
- China – the department produces cars almost only for its own market;
- Russia – for Russia and the CIS countries. This is the production where they assemble the Ford Focus, Mondeo and other models;
- South America.
The company’s Russian plants.
The company is very strict about the quality of cars, despite the location of the plant. These uniform requirements are set by the management in the main branch, located in the United States. Therefore, the consumer buying a Ford Kuga, for example, does not have to wonder where it was assembled.
Russian motorists are interested in where to assemble Ford Kuga and other models of the firm. On the territory of the country the leading positions are taken by the factories located in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. Ford is the first company that built its car concern on the territory of Russia. This happened at the beginning of the 2000s.
It should be noted that the Russian branch has a shop engaged in the stamping of parts, which are made of Russian steel.
Ford model lineup in the Russian Federation
For the inhabitants of the Russian Federation there is a fairly large number of cars of this manufacturer, characterized by an optimal ratio of price and quality. An important point is also the fact that the foreign car is adapted to the Russian consumer, it has additional noise insulation, a winter package, an improved engine and advanced technical innovations.
The Russian can buy:
- Focus – is the leader of the C-class and is considered the most sought-after model in the European market;
- EcoSport – it is a crossover with great potential;
- Mondeo – is a capacious, representative sedan;
- S-Max – a minivan with an attractive design, suitable for a large family;
- Explorer – a large SUV;
- Galaxy – has similarities to the S-Max minivan, is equipped with more equipment and redesigned;
- Ranger – a small pickup designed for people who appreciate practicality.
- Kuga is a compact city car, created especially for the Russian market to compete with Nissan Qashqai;
- Edge – capacious, comfortable crossover that can cope with off-road.
According to the presented lineup it is possible to conclude that anyone can choose a Ford car for himself. There are models for families, students, businessmen, fans of outdoor activities, etc.
How cars are assembled in Russia
In Vsevolzhsk (Leningrad region), where they assemble Ford Mondeo and Focus 4 since 2015, the production cycle has three stages:
- Assembly. More than 500 parts are used for the body, they are assembled manually, only 15% is allocated to automation; . In this workshop, the car stays 5 hours, here also uses manual labor;
- Safety test.
In the plant, located in Elabuga, Tatarstan, a full production cycle appeared only five years ago. The assembly of the Kuga, Explorer and Transit vans is done here. There is no such unique plant for the production of cars anywhere else in the world. This department is also interesting because it introduced automated technology for many operations, which are usually reserved for workers. There is also a high level of production in the plant, underlined by the following factors:
- Many operations have been entrusted to the beautiful sex. Forty percent of the total number of employees are women;
- the small number of staff – only 1,800 workers are enough to maintain the conveyor.
A significant place in the factory in Jelaburg is given to laboratories, which verify the accuracy of assembly with special devices – Carl Zeiss.
The company, in spite of all the political difficulties, decided to survive the crisis and keep production in Russia. Now it is just getting out of the debt hole, but 2018 is expected to be a turning point for the Yelaburg plant. That is why they are staking on the Transit, which has 55 different modifications, and almost half of the sales are in the special versions. It is worth noting that Sberbank orders armored cars from the manufacturer.
As for the Fiesta and EcoSport, they are produced in Naberezhnye Chelny.
Ford cars assembled in Russia have clear advantages. So, the models are characterized by lower cost, which attracts our car owners.
History of Ford Motor Company
The history of this legendary automaker began in 1903, when Henry Ford and eleven partners founded the small Ford Motor Company. The starting capital was $28,000, which was raised thanks to various investors. Ford already had a wealth of experience in engineering, auto racing, and business. True, his first company Detroit Automobile (1899-1900 years) went bankrupt, managing, however, before that release several racing monsters, equal to which on the tracks of those years simply was not.
The negative experience of selling fabulously expensive cars was not in vain – Ford now decided to produce cars that would be accessible to the average consumer. The first product was the Ford A, a small “gasoline baby carriage. And in 1908, the legendary Ford T was born, which was destined to “put the whole America behind the wheel. The car was initially quite affordable, and after the introduction in 1913 at the Ford Motor Company plants of conveyor assembly, it became even cheaper. World War I was raging with all its might in Europe, and in the USA every ten seconds the next Ford T left the plant gates. The term “Ford assembly line” would become a nickname, a symbol of monotonous and almost slave labor (especially in the USSR).
“Ford Motor Company, an American automobile company specializing in the production of “Ford”, “Mercury”, “Lincoln” passenger cars, trucks and a variety of agricultural machinery. “Ford owns the Jaguar company. Its headquarters are in Dearborn (Michigan), not far from where Henry Ford’s parents’ farm used to be.
Henry Ford’s production of practical and inexpensive automobiles has improved the lives of many people around the world. By introducing assembly line assembly, Ford not only established mass production of automobiles, but also set the development of industry on a new path.
Henry Ford was born in Springfield Township, Michigan, on July 30, 1863. He was the eldest of six children of William and Mary Ford, who owned a successful farm. Henry’s childhood was spent on his parents’ farm, where he helped the family and attended the regular country school. Henry’s great interest in machinery, which he showed at a very young age, and allowed him to become one of the most famous industrialists in the world. At the age of 12, Henry set up a small workshop, where he spent all his free time with passion. It was there, a few years later, that he designed his first steam engine. In 1879, Henry Ford moved to Detroit, where he got a job as an assistant machinist. Three years later he moved to Dearborn and for five years was engaged in designing and repairing steam engines, moonlighting from time to time at a factory in Detroit. In 1888 he married Clara Bryant and soon became manager of the sawmill. In 1891 Ford became an engineer for Edison Illuminating and two years later was appointed chief engineer for the company. A decent salary and enough free time allowed Ford to devote more time to developing internal combustion engines.
By vadrocycle.
Ford assembled his first internal combustion engine in the kitchen of his home. He soon decided to put the engine on a frame with four bicycle wheels. Thus, in 1896, the quad bicycle, the vehicle that became Ford’s first automobile, was born.
After quitting Edison Illuminating in 1899, Henry Ford founded his own company, the Detroit Automobile. Despite the fact that a year later the company went bankrupt, Ford managed to build several race cars. Ford himself took part in auto racing and in October 1901 was able to defeat American champion Alexander Winton.
Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903. It was founded by twelve Michigan businessmen led by Henry Ford, who held a 25.5 percent stake in the company and served as vice president and chief engineer. A former van factory on Mac Avenue in Detroit was converted to an automobile plant. Brigades of two or three workers, under Ford’s direct supervision, assembled cars from parts that were custom-made by other companies. The company’s first car was sold on July 23, 1903.
In 1906, Henry Ford became president and majority owner of the company. In 1908, Henry Ford made his dream come true with the Model “T”, a reliable and inexpensive car that became one of the most mass-produced and popular cars of its time. It was the appearance of the Model “T” that ushered in a new era in the development of personal transportation. The Ford car was easy to drive, it did not require complex maintenance and could pass even on rural roads.
A New Generation
In 1919 Henry Ford and his son Edsel bought the company’s stock from other shareholders for $105,568,858 and became the sole owners of the company. In the same year, Edsel inherited from his father the position of president of the company, which he held until his death in 1943. After his son’s untimely death, Henry Ford was again forced to take over the helm of the company.
In September 1945, Henry Ford succeeded his eldest grandson, Henry Ford II. In May 1946, Henry Ford Sr. received an honorary award for his services to the automobile industry, and later that year, the American Petroleum Institute awarded him a gold medal for his services to society.
The end of an era
Henry Ford died at the age of 83 at his home in Dearborn on April 7, 1947. Thus ended an era in the history of Ford Motor Company, which despite the death of its founder continued to actively develop.
The development of mass production
In 1913, Henry Ford began work on the introduction and installation of a continuous assembly line for Model “T” cars in the company’s workshops. This was the beginning of a real industrial revolution. The assembly line at Ford’s first plant in Highland Park, Michigan, USA, was the starting point for the development of mass production all over the world.
From the very beginning Henry Ford wanted to produce mass-produced cars that would have a very simple design and low cost. In those years very few people could afford a car. Ford wanted to “put the world on wheels,” so he wanted to make a car that was affordable to the widest segment of the population.
The First Steps
In the early years, Ford, like other manufacturers at the time, assembled cars only to order. The car was literally built like a house. First the mechanic and his team looked for and ordered the necessary parts, and then proceeded to assemble the car in stages, starting with the chassis and subframe. A little later one car was assembled by several separate crews, which sped up the production process. Ford constantly lacked skilled workers to produce “hand-assembled” cars. The level of production remained low, and the price of cars still could not be lowered because of the high level of pay for skilled mechanics. The first step toward automating production was the installation by Ford and his engineers of machine tools to make various automotive parts. New methods of assembling automotive components were also developed, which greatly accelerated the production process.
e xperiment
In order to achieve his goal of creating a people’s car, Henry Ford needed to increase the level of productivity of the plant. At the factory in Detroit they tried to implement a new working scheme. The chassis of the future cars were connected by a strong rope. Along this line there were workers, who were engaged in the step-by-step assembly of the car as the car chassis progressed.
In creating the layout of his plants, Henry Ford took advantage of the experience of his predecessors. One of these was Eliu Root, who developed a manufacturing process for Samuel Colt that included separate assembly steps. The experiment continued, and the methodology became more refined every day, bringing the advent of true mass production closer. To reduce the cost of highly paid specialists, Henry Ford standardized all parts. Now even unskilled workers could assemble them. The design of the assembly line was also carefully thought out, making it possible to optimize the work of the production line as much as possible.
On the move
The production process was divided into several main stages which helped to quadruple the assembly speed. At first, each shop had its own moving assembly line, but Ford soon made the all-important decision to connect all lines into one continuous conveyor.
The assembly line.
The final step was to create a single conveyor that went through many shops, where the car was assembled in stages. As a result, the finished car was taken out of the factory conveyor already on its own run. In addition to the main conveyor, there were additional moving lines, ensuring the timely delivery of the necessary parts to the assembly shops.
The results
Precision and speed were the key to the success of mass production all over the world. Production of the Model “T” reached record levels, with a complete car rolling off the line every 10 seconds. Ford lowered the prices of its products and doubled the minimum wage, which was now $5 a day. Ford was not only able to produce first-class cars, but also greatly increased its profits.
Ford produced two million Model “T” cars annually, each costing only $260.
The new level of wages and the whole philosophy of production led to many changes in the social sphere, and the appearance of the Ford assembly line was the beginning of an industrial revolution throughout the world.
