Ford to go flexible

Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 11 Nov 2002 10:06

Ford Motor Company is to follow the lead of Toyota and Honda, and introduce new ‘flexible manufacturing systems’ to its North American operations.

Ford has been developing the new system for the past 18 months, and will start installation next year. This involves re-equipping its assembly lines with robots that can be switched from making one vehicle type to making another within minutes, on the same line.

The aim of the move is to catch up and compete with its Japanese rivals, and Ford also expects the to new equipment to yield savings of $1.5 billion to $2 billion over the next decade.

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