Ford South Africa’s Silverton assembly plant, in Pretoria, has achieved its highest daily production number yet – 704 vehicles.

Based on three-shift 24-hour production, the plant is capable of producing up to 720 vehicles a day, or 200 000 vehicles a year.

The facility assembles the new Ranger, as well as Volkswagen pick-ups, as part of the global Ford-Volkswagen strategic alliance.

“We started production of the next-gen Ranger in the middle of November last year, and have steadily implemented our scheduled rate of climb as we kicked off with the Ranger double-cab models, and followed this up with the single-cab and super-cab derivatives early this year,” says Ford South Africa operations VP Ockert Berry.

“We recently achieved our highest daily production number yet of 704 vehicles. We are delighted with the volumes and, crucially, the exceptional quality of the vehicles coming out of the plant.

“There’s been a major improvement in first-time-through, which is a measure of the quality of production components and processes without having to do any repairs or reworks on the line,” notes Berry.

“This contributes to the efficiency of our vehicle production and is vital to achieving the required volumes, and, ultimately, means the best quality products for our customers.”

A total of 33 841 new Rangers had been produced at Silverton by the end of June, with total domestic Ranger sales sitting at 9 258 vehicles over the same period.

This excludes 1 973 new Ranger Raptors, which are fully imported.

In terms of exports, 24 583 Rangers had been shipped to export markets by the end of June, with the largest destination being Europe, where the bakkie leads its segment.

Vehicles are exported to more than 100 global markets through the roll-on/roll-off terminals at the Durban and Port Elizabeth ports.

Sustainability
“We are stepping up our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment by building a new scrapyard which will allow us to increase the amount of scrap that is sorted on site and recycled,” says Berry.

The new R15-million facility will include undercover areas to protect paper waste from rain, while it will also enable the baling of waste paper for recycling.

Cardboard and plastic waste generated as part of the manufacturing operations are also recycled, while recycling bins are located throughout the plant to promote employee participation in responsible waste management.

The new scrapyard has been designed to allow for future expansion as the site continues to grow and further recycling initiatives are implemented.