www.automobil.co.za
July 2023
NEWS
Reuben van Niekerk
ord’s recent investments in its South African manufacturing facilities
are allowing the company to deliver on its ambitious targets, achieve
record production and the highest levels of quality to date for the Sil-
verton assembly plant, located in Pretoria.
As part of the massive investment announced in 2021, Ford constructed
its first on site stamping plant, built a completely new highly automated body
shop and modernised the assembly plant with the latest in production tech-
nologies. In addition a new Ford owned and operated chassis plant was con-
structed in the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone, adjacent to the
Silverton plant and a specially developed vehicle modification centre was in-
stalled to facilitate the fitment of factory approved accessories such as roller
shutters and canopies prior to delivery, a task that was previously handled by
the dealer network. These fitments can now be done using the same quality
controls and processes as those of the main vehicle assembly line.
The result is that the Silverton plant has an installed capacity of up to
200 000 vehicles per year, which includes the Ford Ranger and well as
Volkswagen Amarok as part of the Ford-VW strategic alliance. Thanks to
three shifts that work 24 hours a day, the plant is capable of producing 720
vehicles a day.
Despite these increases in volume there have also been massive im-
provements in first-time through, which is a measure of the quality of the
production components and processes and minimises the need for repairs
or reworks on the line. This contributes to the efficiency of the production,
the achievement of the required volumes and results in better quality prod-
ucts for Ford customers.
High-tech imaging system installed to improve quality control
To ensure that every vehicle that rolls off the Silverton Assembly plant meets
stringent quality criteria, the company has invested R20-million in a DeGould
Auto Scan system that replaces inspection by people with an advanced sys-
tem that utilises multiple cameras and artificial intelligence to inspect each
vehicle. The system captures high-definition full-body images of every ve-
hicle that passes through the Silverton plant’s shipping tunnel and can de-
tect any misbuilds, damage or defects smaller than what can consistently be
found by the naked eye. It takes just six seconds to capture high-definition
images of the vehicle and detect any faults.
The system also keeps a record of the vehicles condition when it leaves
the factory, allowing Ford to narrow down any subsequent damage to han-
dlers such as road freight operators, shipping handlers or the dealers them-
selves. This system is a highly effective tool in raising the quality of the vehi-
cles coming out of the Silverton plant, while providing an excellent source of
data for any claims disputes.
Investing in the working environment
Although Ford’s current production plant sees the introduction of increased
automation throughout, the plant still relies heavily on humans to build the
vehicles that they do. Creating a working environment that is welcoming for
its employees was integral in the latest round of upgrades.
Ford have spent over R20-million over the past six months updating em-
ployee facilities, canteens and communal areas. Most recently Ford installed
a fully equipped laundry facility, at a cost of R5 million, which enables em-
ployees to have their personal protection equipment clothing such as over-
alls washed on site, ready to be worn for the next shift.
Managing load shedding
Ford’s Silverton Vehicle Assembly plant in Pretoria is protected from load-
shedding as a heavy industry manufacturer. However the Struandale engine
plant in the Eastern Cape is affected from stage five of loadshedding based
on a predetermined schedule that ranges from one 24-hour period in an
eight day cycle during stage five to four 24 hour periods in an eight day cycle
during stage eight.
Ford is continuously working to minimise its reliance on the grid and in
May 2022 they switched on a pioneering solar project at Silverton, which
uses 3 610 solar photovoltaic carports to generate 35 percent of the plant’s
electricity requirements. Ford will continue to monitor the situation and in-
vestigate ways to mitigate against potential risks and decrease their poten-
tial on the national grid.
Ford makes further investments
in local production facilities