Ford’s Struandale engine assembly plant located in Port Elizabeth, South Africa began production on a new global engine not too long ago. The engine, named the Duratorq TDCi will be Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa’s (FMCSA) latest project as it is scheduled to be found under the hoods of numerous global vehicles very soon. With this new assembly, the Struandale plant adopts the role as a global hub for Ford diesel engines.
“The diesel engine programme represents an entirely new era for the Struandale Engine Plant, which, through Ford’s stringent global quality standards, has undergone a complete transformation to ensure that it competes with the best in the world,” said Struandale’s plant manager, Wallace Yearwood. The Duratorq TDCi is a compact, turbocharged diesel that will first power the next generation global Ford Ranger Truck which will be exported from South Africa to 148 world-wide markets.
Assembly of the new engine is due in part to a $500 million investment into FMCSA that has also increased annual production to 75,000 engines and 220,000 engine component kits. The Struandale plant will not only benefit from upgraded test bench parts, but a all-new dynamometer specifically designed to test the substantially high torque produced by the new Duratorq TDCi diesel.
