The Indian unit of US based leading car maker Ford rolled-out the 1,00,000th engine in the month of March from its Chennai manufacturing facility. The company said in a statement on Tuesday, "This significant milestone was achieved just 14 months after the engine plant opened for operations in January 2010."
The engine production plant was established in a bid to meet the growing demand and opportunities in the Indian market. The plant, which has a capacity of manufacturing 2,50,000 engines per year, is a part of Ford’s USD 500-million investment at the Maraimalai Nagar site. It is a flexible engine production line where the company produces both petrol and diesel engines. The engine produced at the site includes five 'Duratec' petrol engine variants and one 'Duratorq' diesel engine. So far, the company has exported over one third of the engines produced here to South Africa and Thailand.
Speaking on the achievement, Ford India President and Managing Director Michael Boneham said, "This world-class manufacturing facility reinforces our intent and commitment to compete with great products and powertrains in all segments."
According to a statement given by Mr. Radhakrishnan Balasundaram, Ford India Vice-President, Powertrain Operations (PTO), the company is confident to produce the next 1 lakh engine units at even faster pace.
