Ford India today announced it has completed the expansion of its engine plant, increasing annual engine production capacity 36 per cent to 340,000, helping transform the facility into a regional small engine hub. The new facility was completed in record time of just over 14 months and creates capacity in manufacturing over additional 80,000 diesel engines annually.  The additional capacity will feed the surging demand for diesel powertrains in India and growing exports, creating more employment opportunities in the process. The ongoing expansion has already led to the hiring of 200 employees.

“We are delighted to see this new addition to our capacity in the Engine Plant as we gear up to move to the next stage of growth in India and the region,” said Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India.

“We are at an interesting phase of growth with the markets demanding swift responses from manufacturers, and I’m proud to say that with this plant’s amazingly flexible production lines of both petrol and diesel engines, we’re well-poised to move quickly,” Boneham added.

Boneham recently joined the Engine Plant’s chief, Radhakrishnan Balasundaram, vice-president, Powertrain Operations, Ford India, in cutting a ribbon to mark the roll-out of the 400,000th engine from the plant. “This is a special occasion for all of us at the Chennai Engine Plant. Commissioning this facility in record time is a tremendous milestone and just adds to the many significant achievements this plant has in terms of Quality, Safe, Smart and Green,” said Radhakrishnan.

The US$ 72 million investment, which has enabled the plant to enhance the Crankshaft Machining, Cylinder Head and Cylinder Block Machining at the Machine Shop with procurement of new equipment, has also boosted its ability to handle more complex tasks. Today, the plant produces 12 Duratec petrol engine variants and five Duratorq diesel engine variants, allowing the workforce to hone its skills working on several variants.