Ford Celebrates Opening of New US$450 Million (THB14 billion) Manufacturing Facility in Thailand

BANGKOK, Thailand, May 3, 2012 – Ford Motor Company today celebrated the official grand opening of Ford Thailand Manufacturing (FTM) – a new US$450 million (THB14 billion), state-of-the-art passenger vehicle manufacturing plant in Rayong, Thailand.

 

Minister of Industry, M.R. Pongsvas Svasti, Thailand Board of Investment Secretary-General, Dr. Atchaka Sibunruang, and U.S. Ambassador to Thailand, Kristie Kenney, were among the dignitaries and guests joining Ford executives and employees at the new 200,000sqm plant in the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate.

 

This highly flexible plant, capable of building a diverse range of vehicles, will serve as the foundation for Ford’s plan to introduce eight all-new global One Ford vehicles to the ASEAN region by mid-decade.

 

“The opening of this new, world-class facility is the latest example in our aggressive growth plan for this region, which represents Ford’s largest industrial expansion in half-a-century,” said Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa. “The world-class One Ford vehicles produced here will be part of our plan to launch 50 new vehicles and powertrains in Asia Pacific and Africa by mid-decade.”

 

Ford Thailand Manufacturing is Ford’s second plant in Thailand, and one of eight new Ford manufacturing facilities across the Asia Pacific and Africa region the company will open by 2015 as part of its aggressive global expansion.

 

“Ford Thailand Manufacturing will allow us to meet the enormous growth in vehicle demand across this region in the coming years,” added Hinrichs.

 

Along with China and India, Thailand serves as one of the key global production and export hubs for Ford Motor Company. Ford Thailand Manufacturing has an initial production capacity of 150,000 vehicles – increasing the company’s annual capacity in Thailand to 445,000 – making Ford one of the largest producers and exporters of vehicles in the country.  

 

Since 2007, Ford is Thailand’s largest automotive investor, having invested more than US$1.5 billion (THB 46 billion) to continually expand its local operations. Overall, Ford is the second largest automotive investor in the country, with cumulative investments totalling more than $2.5 billion (THB 77 billion).

 

“No other automotive manufacturer has invested more in Thailand over the last five years than Ford Motor Company. We are clearly here for the long-run,” said Peter Fleet, president, Ford ASEAN.

 

The new Ford facility has the potential to support up to 11,000 new jobs – including 2,200 direct jobs with Ford and 8,800 indirect jobs through its supplier and dealer networks – with the first 1,600 already on-site, preparing for the launch of production.

 

Economic contributions also include the purchase of up to US$800 million (THB 25 billion) worth of components locally through Thailand’s automotive manufacturing supplier network.

 

 

The new Thailand facility is fully integrated to support stamping, body assembly, paint, trim and final assembly, and is equipped with state-of-the-art automation that showcases Ford's global manufacturing 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.

 

The production line at FTM is designed for maximum flexibility, enabling it to produce six different types of vehicles simultaneously. This allows the company to bring new vehicles to market faster, and test new vehicles while maintaining full production speed. 

 

"This new flexible plant will help give us the capacity to realize our aggressive growth plans for the fast-growing ASEAN markets,” explained Fleet.

 

 

The new facility follows Ford’s global model of sustainability initiatives and processes to ensure minimal impact on the environment.

 

The paint shop utilizes Ford’s environmentally-friendly and revolutionary Three-Wet high-solids paint process, which improves paint quality, depth and durability, and significantly reduces volatile organic compounds, CO₂ emissions and waste.

 

By maximizing a wide range of state-of-the-art technologies – including rotational dip technology, the re-circulation of air, and recovering heat energy from the oven exhaust – the paint shop is able to return massive water, energy and environment savings.

 

Buildings at the new facility are naturally ventilated with louvers that allow daylight to provide illumination. Energy-efficient LED bulbs are used instead of incandescent bulbs, producing energy savings and reducing heat generation. 

 

The plant also features an on-site wastewater treatment facility, and makes use of local and recycled materials.

 

 

Production will start next month with the global all-new Ford Focus, which is already being built in five other Ford facilities around the world. 

 

The all-new Focus is built on Ford's global C-platform, or mid-size vehicle chassis. At FTM and elsewhere, up to ten different kinds of vehicles will be produced on this platform.

 

Ford Thailand Manufacturing is located in the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate, home to Ford's joint venture facility, AutoAlliance Thailand, which produces the all-new Ford Ranger and Ford Fiesta subcompact.