SOUTHAMPTON, Hampshire, 1 July 2009 – Thomas Fischer has become plant manager of Ford Southampton following the promotion of Martin Chapman.
Thomas, 46, joined Southampton plant as area manager of trim and final, where completed Ford Transits come off the line, over two years ago. More recently the former Ford apprentice took on responsibility for quality and manufacturing engineering at the plant before taking the top job on 1 July 2009.
Born in Ulm, Germany, Thomas joined Ford in 1980 and has held a series of mostly manufacturing roles, including manufacturing engineering manager at Ford's Cologne assembly plant, prior to moving to the UK. His 29 years at Ford have included previous overseas projects at the company's Halewood and Valencia plants.
Thomas lives with his wife and daughter in Hampshire, with his son studying for an apprenticeship in Germany.
Martin Chapman is now operations manager of Cologne plant, where the award-winning Ford Fiesta – currently the UK's best-selling car – is assembled, as well as the Ford Fusion.