Ford announces $700M investment in Oakville

Ford Canada is set to announce an investment of $700 million at its Oakville Assembly plant, securing more than 2,800 jobs and expanding its manufacturing capability to meet surging global demand.
 
“This investment is helping us find much needed capacity for global products and securing jobs, and it is positioning Oakville as one of the most competitive and important facilities in the Ford system,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of The Americas.  “Global fuel-efficient products, built in a state-of-the-art facility, by a great workforce are a win for everyone today.”
 
Hinrichs said Ford would bring several new global models to the plant, helping to meet demand in North America and around the world. The company’s investment will mean its spending on Canadian-made auto parts will increase by approximately $200 million, to a total of nearly $4 billion annually.
 
The automaker said enhancements at the plant mark Ford’s latest step in maximizing its existing North American manufacturing assets, matching production to consumer demand as Ford’s North American sales surge to pre-recession levels. Sales of the Oakville Assembly-produced Edge in the United States – Edge’s biggest market – so far in 2013 are on pace to beat the prior record of 130,000 vehicles set in 2007.
 
The move to global manufacturing at the Oakville plant will enable Ford to shift production based on consumer demand more quickly and efficiently. The state-of-the-art facility will be able to align capacity of any one vehicle with real demand for Ford customers in North America and all over the world.
 
Ford currently utilizes nine global platforms around the world to build about 85 per cent of its vehicles.

Global manufacturing offers Ford the opportunity to leverage commonality of components, design and build processes to streamline its ability to produce high-quality vehicles and accelerate production to meet growing consumer demand for Ford products.
 
Work on the transformation at Oakville Assembly is already under way with a completion date pegged for fall 2014.
 
“This is an incredible year for Oakville Assembly,” said Will Cowell, plant manager, Oakville Assembly. “We are celebrating the plant’s 60th anniversary and we passed the 1 million mark in Ford Edge production. We look forward to continuing to celebrate many more milestones and to building quality vehicles with passion and excellence for years to come.”
 
Oakville Assembly manufactures Ford Edge, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKX and Lincoln MKT.