Ford Bridgend Engine Plant Builds 20-Millionth Engine
Ford’s Bridgend Engine Plant last month hit a milestone that was 37 years and 19,999,999 engines in the making.
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The plant, located in Wales, built its unprecedented 20-millionth engine on September 21st, 37 years after it built its first engine in September 1979—a CVH four-cylinder for the third-gen Ford Escort. For some context, that means that Bridgend Engine Plant has manufactured an average of 540,540.540540540540 engines a year every year since opening. That is an awful lot of 540s.
“Bridgend has a proud record of high-quality engine production and I’m delighted to celebrate this significant milestone with the team that builds them,” said Linda Cash, vice president of Manufacturing, Ford of Europe. “Today the plant builds a range of high-tech EcoBoost products, and we continue to invest in Bridgend, with the plant confirmed to build the next generation of fuel-efficient petrol engines.”
Ford announced that the plant will build a new generation of fuel-efficient EcoBoost engines beginning in 2018 as part of a £100 million investment. In the 37 years since opening, Bridgend Engine Plant has received more than £1.8 billion in investments.
Today, the plant manufactures 3,400 engines on a daily basis, or approximately one engine every 24 seconds on its busiest line. Its current output consists of the 1.5-liter EcoBoost engine found in the Focus, Kuga, Mondeo, and S-MAX, the 1.6-liter EcoBoost that powers the Fiesta ST, and various six- and eight-cylinder engines for premium customers.
The plant is managed by Ian Pearson, and its current employment numbers total 1,850.
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