The News Wheel
No Comments

Ford Investment Upgrades Conveyor System at Pretoria’s Silverton Assembly Plant

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page

Ford Silverton Assembly Plant Conveyor Belt

Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa announced that it is investing R 125 million (approximately $9.8 million USD) in its Pretoria-based Silverton Assembly Plant in order to upgrade the vehicle conveyor system to improve overall production capacity for both the Ranger midsize pickup and Everest SUV.

The optimization of Silverton’s Electro Monorail System Webb conveyor system will increase production time by cutting down on the time it takes for Rangers and Everests to cross from the body shop to the paint shop. Additionally, it decouples the body shop from the paint shop, which allows them to work independent of one another should one shop undergo a stoppage, and it creates a buffer zone between the two areas in which last minute repairs and adjustments can be made prior to a vehicle entering the paint shop.


The Hottest of the Hot Hatches: Just how much horsepower can the 2017 Ford Focus RS generate?


“The new conveyor is based on similar systems employed at Ford assembly plants in Europe, using proven technology to maximize production efficiency and capacity,” said Andreas Bruditz, area manager at the Body Shop.

Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa includes the investment as part of its previously announced plans to increase capacity by 22% from 27 jobs per hour to 33 jobs per hour by January 2018.

In April 2016, Ford invested R 2.5 billion (approximately $170 million USD) to increase Silverton’s output to include production capacity for 10,000 units of the Everest on an annual basis. The investment helped to create 1,200 new jobs for Ford South Africa and its extended supplier network.


It’s Good to Go Green: Some of the many benefits of switching to a hybrid vehicle