Ford Bridgend Engine Plant

Ford Bridgend Engine Plant
Built 1977
Location Bridgend, Wales, United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°29′39″N 3°32′04″W / 51.494049°N 3.534508°W / 51.494049; -3.534508Coordinates: 51°29′39″N 3°32′04″W / 51.494049°N 3.534508°W / 51.494049; -3.534508
Industry Automotive
Products CVH engine (1980-2000)
Zetec-E (Zeta) engine (1992-2004)
EcoBoost engine (2009-present)
Employees 1,980
Area 1,525,270 square feet (141,702 m2)
Address +44(0)1656 672300

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

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 specialises in producing 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" basis. [4][5][6][7] JLR will move the production of its engines to its new Wolverhampton plant by 2018.[8]

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 £15M investment grant by the Welsh Government.[8] BBC Radio news on 2 March 2017 reported that the Bridgend operation was under threat as a result of Brexit.

Former products

The plant formerly produced the following products:

References

  1. ↑ Wim Oude Weernink and Bradford Wernle. "Building Blocks: Ford learns a lesson from Lego". AutoWeek. Retrieved 30 March 2006.
  2. ↑ Staff Report. "Ford To Produce New PAG 6-Cylinder Engine". BlueOvalNews.com. Retrieved 26 May 2006.
  3. ↑ "New high efficiency four-cylinder Ford EcoBoost engine family debuts at Frankfurt". Media.Ford.com. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. ↑ "Jaguar's First Ever V8 Engine To Power XK8 Sports Car".
  7. ↑ "All-New, World-Class Jaguar Production Facility". Archived from the original on 27 March 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-32055173
  9. ↑ Wim Oude Weernink and Bradford Wernle. "Building Blocks: Ford learns a lesson from Lego". AutoWeek. Retrieved 30 March 2006.
  10. ↑ Staff Report. "Ford To Produce New PAG 6-Cylinder Engine". BlueOvalNews.com. Retrieved 26 May 2006.
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