Just a year after setting up their engine facility in Maraimalainagar Nagar, Chennai, Ford India have achieved the distinction of rolling out the 100,000th engine from this plant. The beauty of the thing is that the 100,000th engine was rolled out barely in 14 months of start up of the plant. This engine plant is highly flexible in the terms that it can roll out both diesel and petrol engines from the same production line. It is also the first in the world for Ford wherein both the engines are produced from the same line. Michael Boneham, Ford India’s Managing Director and President said that this engine unit stands true to the commitment of the company in delivering high quality products to the Indian and global community. He also said that the mother company in Detroit had rightly predicted that this plant would be crucial for their operation and Ford India have justified the $500 million investment done in this plant.
Though this plant is capable of producing 2,50,000 engines per year, it is now said that, after the 100,000th engine milestone that the next 100,000 engines would be produced at even a faster clip. It is also being said that about one third of the engines to roll out of this plant have been exported to markets as diverse as Thailand, Mexico and South Africa. Currently the plant manufactures 1 diesel engine and 5 variants of the petrol engine.