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Ford South Africa celebrates Millionth Ranger from Silverton Manufacturing Plant

Jun 05, 2024 Ford South Africa, Neale Hill, Millionth Ranger, Silverton Manufacturing Plant, Ockert Berry,


Ford South Africa celebrates Millionth Ranger from Silverton Manufacturing Plant

 

Ford South Africa celebrates its latest milestone in the local production of the Ford Ranger over the past 24 years, as the Silverton plant celebrates the one-millionth unit off its modern assembly line.

 

“It’s fitting that we celebrate reaching and now rapidly surpassing the one-millionth locally produced Ranger during Ford’s Centenary year in South Africa,” says Neale Hill, president, Ford Motor Company Africa. “Production of the first-generation Ranger commenced in 2000, which coincided with the official return of Ford Motor Company to South Africa. Both of these events were defining moments in the brand’s local history, and set the tone for Ford’s firm commitment to the country.

 

“We have continued to invest extensively in our local operations at the Silverton Manufacturing Plant and the Struandale Engine Plant to expand Ranger production for the South African market, and to support crucial exports to more than 100 global markets,” Hill says. “At our Centenary event last year, we were delighted to announce a further investment for the exciting new Ranger Plug-in Hybrid EV as the latest chapter in this remarkable story. This reinforces the significance of our local operations and the contribution of our South African team in the global success of the Ranger program,” Hill says.

 

The launch of the third and current-generation Ranger at the end of 2022 followed a massive investment and expansion program for the Silverton Manufacturing Plant to increase installed capacity to 200,000 vehicles per year – or 720 vehicles per day, which is the highest volume of any vehicle manufacturer in South Africa.

 

“To achieve these unprecedented volumes, we adopted a no-compromise approach. We constructed our first on-site Stamping Plant, built the only Ford-owned and operated Chassis Plant in the world, installed an all-new Body Shop and completely modernized the Ranger assembly line,” says Ockert Berry, vice president Operations, Ford South Africa. “This gave us full control of the manufacturing process, and with a high level of cutting-edge automation it ensured that we achieve consistent volumes and the highest quality for our customers.

 

“The Chassis Plant was also very significant in that it was built in the newly developed Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone adjacent to the Silverton plant,” Berry says. “This automotive supplier hub was the first of its kind in South Africa, and was the result of a unique public-private partnership between Ford and national, provincial and local government. It now houses 11 component suppliers that provide parts directly to the Ranger assembly line.”
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