Ford Bridgend Engine Plant

The Ford Bridgend Engine Plant is a manufacturing facility of Ford of Europe, located in Bridgend, Wales.

Ford Bridgend Engine Plant
Built1977
LocationBridgend, Wales, United Kingdom
Coordinates51.494049°N 3.534508°W / 51.494049; -3.534508
IndustryAutomotive
ProductsCVH engine (1980–2000)
Zetec-E (Zeta) engine (1992–2004)
EcoBoost engine (2009–present)
Employees1,700[1]
Area1,525,270 square feet (141,702 m2)

Construction

After signing an investment deal with the Welsh Development Agency, construction was started on the greenfield site in 1977. The 1,525,270 square feet (141,702 m2) plant began production in 1980, and currently specialises in producing high-efficiency petrol engines. Its first product was the CVH engine used in the then new third generation European Escort of that year.

Production

The plant currently produces the following Ford products:

Jaguar engine plant

Jaguar Land Rover have a plant-within-a-plant at Bridgend, which saved considerable investment costs by JLR. Staffed by workers dedicated to Jaguar production of the AJ-V8 engine, it includes a linked flow-line of computer numerically controlled machines with automated loading and assembly. Component supply is on a just-in-time manufacturing basis.[3][4][5][6] JLR will move the production of its engines to its new Wolverhampton plant by 2020.[7]

Future

The plant currently produces 750,000 engines per annum. Volvo-badged production ended in March 2015, and Jaguar-Land Rover products are scheduled to move completely to their own Wolverhampton plant by 2020, production at the plant is projected by Ford of Europe to fall to around 250,000.

In March 2015, Ford of Europe made the recommendation to Ford HQ in Detroit to build the new "Dragon" designed petrol engines at Bridgend, after a review of options across plants in: Valencia, Spain; Cologne, Germany; and Craiova, Romania. The required investment is being backed with an additional £15 million investment grant by the Welsh Government.[7] In January 2019, plans were leaked for 990 job losses at the plant by 2021.[8] In June 2019, trade union sources that Ford was planning to close the plant in September 2020.[9] On 1 July 2019 the taskforce setup to support the ex-employees held its first meeting.[10]

Former products

The plant formerly produced the following products:

References
  1. "Ford staff 'anxious' over job cut plans". BBC News. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  2. "New high efficiency four-cylinder Ford EcoBoost engine family debuts at Frankfurt". Media.Ford.com. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  3. "Business Secretary Visits Ford's Expanding Engine Plant | Ford Motor Company Newsroom". Media.ford.com. 15 January 2009. Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  4. "Ford jobs safe at Bridgend and Dagenham - Car and Car-Buying News - What Car?". Whatcar.com. 28 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  5. "Jaguar's First Ever V8 Engine To Power XK8 Sports Car".
  6. "All-New, World-Class Jaguar Production Facility". Archived from the original on 27 March 2011.
  7. Dickins, Sarah (25 March 2015). "Ford Bridgend set for new engine but at a cost?". BBC News.
  8. "1,000 Bridgend Ford job cuts outlined". BBC News. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  9. "Ford Bridgend engine plant 'to close in 2020'". BBC News. 6 June 2019.
  10. "Ford Bridgend: New taskforce holds first meeting". www.bbc.co.uk. The BBC. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  11. Wim Oude Weernink and Bradford Wernle. "Building Blocks: Ford learns a lesson from Lego". AutoWeek. Retrieved 30 March 2006.
  12. Staff Report. "Ford To Produce New PAG 6-Cylinder Engine". Blue Oval News. Retrieved 26 May 2006.
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