Ford plans 13 billion upgrade of Kentucky truck plant

Almost a quarter of the 8,500 "new or guaranteed" occupations that Ford Motor Co. guaranteed the UAW in its recently ratified agreement will be-at the Louisville, Ky., plant that is getting ready to to assemble aluminium-bodied Super-Duty pick-ups.
Ford today intends to declare a $1.3 billion investment in its Kentucky Truck Plant to to aid the redesigned Super-Duty. It stated the re-tooling and growth, including a fresh body store, will produce 2,000 jobs at the plant, which now employs about 4,400 employees.
All the 2,000 jobs will be new hires, while some some might be filled by workers going from other crops, according to a source briefed on the strategy.
The occupations help Ford meet its obligations under the brand new UAW contract, but the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the formal statement, stated much of the expense is associated with the last contract signed in 2011. That offer guaranteed a $621 million expense in Kentucky Truck, while the brand new contract earmarks an extra $600 million for the plant.
"Adding new careers and much more investing at Kentucky Truck Plant not only ensures a good basis for our UAW members, but additionally reinforces the communities where they reside, work and perform," UAW Vice-President Jimmy Settles said in a statement introduced by Ford.
Ford claims the 2017 Super-Duty, planned to really go on sale late next yr, will be up to 350 lbs lighter in relation to the current edition but have lengthier cabs and enhanced towing and payload capability. Sources have told Automotive News that creation begins in May.
The change-over is likely to be a lot quicker and not as disruptive than it was for the F150, which included several months of downtime at two crops to change their physique stores and make other updates. Ford spent almost $2 billion to update its Kansas City Assembly and Dearborn Truck plants, as well as associated parts and stamping plants.
By constructing an entirely new bodyshop at Kentucky Truck, creation of the existing Super Duty may continue before the business commences creation of the newest variant. That indicates Ford will not have to handle stocks of the Super-Duty as attentively.
"It is a standard start," CEO Mark Fields mentioned on Ford's third quarter earnings call Oct. 27. "We'll manage it throughout the shut-down intervals, during the holidays, and we'll be up and running."
The investment is likely to greatly help prepare the plant for creating aluminum-bodied Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators just as 2017. Ford hasn't verified reports in Automotive Information and else where the next generation of its own full size SUVs, which are constructed alongside the Super-Duty f 250, F350, F 450 and F550 pickups and chassis-cabs, will have aluminum bodies.
The UAW stated Ford invested to keep constructing the Expedition and Navigator at Kentucky Truck together with assistance from a "leading investment."
Additionally, Ford advised the UAW it could invest $700 million in the near-by Louisville Assembly Plant, that may shortly begin assembling the refreshed Escape cross over.
At Kentucky Truck, filings that Ford produced in September with Louisville economical development officials reveal a 288,715-square foot expansion to the present 6 million-square feet, according to Louisville Company First.
"This fantastic investment as well as dedication to new job development reconfirms the power of a more than century-long connection between Ky and Ford Motor Co.," Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear stated in Ford's declaration nowadays.
The Super-Duty is the reason about one third of overall Fseries revenue, which were up 1.5 percent to 629, 951 automobiles this year through October.

It's possible for you to reach Nick Bunkley at [email protected]. -- Follow Nick on

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01.12.2015
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