Ford announces $20m upgrade to Geelong casting plant

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Ford announces $20m upgrade to Geelong casting plant
April 14th, 2010

BREAKING NEWS A $20 million environmental and technical upgrade to Ford's Geelong Casting Plant will increase the size of its workforce by 50 per cent and ensure vital automotive manufacturing skills remain in Australia.
The upgrade will create 50 new jobs at the plant, and secure the employment of 100 existing plant employees.

This morning's announcement will also provide piece of mind for hundreds of workers in Ford's supporting and supplier industries across Geelong.

Production work that was potentially headed to China will now take place in Geelong.

Ford Australia president and chief executive officer Marin Burela made the announcement at the Geelong Casting Plant this morning and was flanked by Victorian Premier John Brumby, Federal Minister for Industry Senator Kim Carr, Geelong Mayor John Mitchell and a host of local MPs.

The Federal Government has committed $11.8m to the project while the State Government has also contributed financially. However Mr Brumby refused to say how much money the Victorian Government has chipped in.

Workers at the plant have already expressed relief that today's announcement secures their employment into the future.

The investment to ‘green’ the Geelong Casting Plant comes on top of the $230 million investment in sustainability initiatives for Falcon and Territory announced last year, part of Ford’s ten year, $1.8 billion investment in local operations and ongoing commitment to Australian manufacturing.

Mr Burela said the company was leading the industry in finding new, innovative ways to extend its business through collaboration with partners across the sector.

“Our $20 million investment is great news for local jobs, great news for the environment, great news for the automotive sector and great news for Ford Australia,” Mr Burela said in a press release.

“It keeps in Australia work that could otherwise have gone to Chinese manufacturers, which is a fantastic testament to the skills and productivity of our workforce.

“It is vital that automotive manufacturing skills remain in Australia for the viability and strength of the entire sector, and we’re very pleased the Australian and Victorian Governments have recognised this through their support.”

Under an agreement with global components supplier Bosch the upgraded plant will be a centre of excellence for brake rotor casting.

The plant will manufacture around 1 million brake components annually for Bosch Chassis Systems Australia.

The plant will also manufacture engine blocks for Ford’s new Euro IV compliant I6 petrol engine for FG Falcon and the new Territory diesel and petrol variants.

“Our I6 engine continues to be the cornerstone of our success in Australia and its evolution over the last 50 years is testament to the engineering ingenuity we have at Ford Australia,” Mr Burela said.

“Its upgrade to Euro IV emissions standards proves that it is possible to enjoy the benefits of a large car along with improved fuel economy and reduced emissions.”

The casting plant upgrade will benefit the environment through:

• An electricity efficiency gain of more than 5,100 kW hours a day, obtained by reducing furnace idle times;

• Increased use of recycled stormwater to 77,000 litres a week, or 3.7 million litres a year – around 20 per cent of all water used at the Plant will be from recycled stormwater, up from the current 5 per cent;

• Increased use of recycled shredded metal, increasing from 32 per cent to 70 per cent – 67 tonnes of metal a day will be recycled, or almost 15,000 tonnes a year; and

• Sand reclamation to increase to almost 100 per cent by selling around 138 tonnes of surplus sand each week for cement production, reducing sand landfill requirements to zero.

The Casting Plant upgrade will be undertaken continuously over the next 36 months.