Despite a massive fire at the Meridian Magnesium Products facility in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant will resume F-150 production on Friday, May 17th. Ford says the supply chain for the Super Duty is also restored, and production should restart at the Kentucky Truck Plant by Monday, May 21st. The Kansas City Assembly Plant, which produces F-150s, is also scheduled to resume operations by May 21st.
?While the situation remains extremely dynamic, our teams are focused on returning our plants to full production as fast as possible,? explained Joe Hinrichs, Ford President, Global Operations.
Heavy Equipment
After the May 2nd fire, teams addressed safety concerns and restored electricity as quickly as they could. The goal was to retrieve and relocate tools so production could resume, and the financial impacts of the stalled plants could be minimized. The teams ultimately removed 19 dies (a tool used to cut or shape material using a press) from Meridian?s fire-damaged facility. In one instance, teams moved an 87,000 lbs. die from Eaton Rapids, Michigan to Nottingham, U.K. in a mere 30 hours. Under normal circumstances, something of this magnitude would take 10 days when considering import and export approvals and flight logistics. The die was sent to Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio where it was loaded onto an Antonov An-124 Ruslan, an aircraft renowned for its heavy cargo capacity.
?Faced with unexpected adversity, the Ford team...