More than 3,800 employees and 591 robots have Ford Motor Co.’s Hermosillo plant operating at maximum capacity.
The 2.5 million-square-foot plant manufactures Fusion Hybrid and Lincoln MKZ models.
A $1.3 billion expansion in 2012 brought the plant up to its current production level of 385,000 vehicles a year — an increase of 150,400 in the past five years.
A delegation from Tucson visited Hermosillo, Sonora this week as part of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Arizona Daily Star distribution of the Arizona-Sonora Business Resource Guide south of the border.
After visiting with several of the automaker’s suppliers in Hermosillo, the delegation was treated to a tour of the Ford plant and presentation by officials at the plant.
The operation is impressive.
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Massive robots bend and twist among flying sparks in the metal-welding department. Other robots are tasked with cutting material for the vehicle’s interior, and others do computerized quality inspections.
Employees who maintain the robots receive a full year of training.
On the assembly line, hundreds of workers add cables to the doors of the vehicles where power locks, windows and speakers will be wired.
Upholstery, console assembly, paint jobs, engines, bumpers, tires and finally the test drive on the track — the process of building a car takes 21.5 hours, said Saul Contreras, Ford’s launch planning manager.
Later this year, the Hermosillo plant will build the Lincoln MKZ 2015MY for exportation to China. It will be the first time Ford exports to China from Hermosillo.
“So they can see,” Contreras said with a smile, “how it’s done.”
Things you may not know about Ford’s Hermosillo operation:
- It opened in 1986 and sits on a 270-acre site.
- The first car built by Ford in Hermosillo was the Mercury Tracer.
- It manufactured the Escort and Focus models before taking on Fusion Hybrid and Lincoln MKZ.
- Of the 3,800 employees, the majority — 82 percent — are men.
- The average age of workers is 30. The average seniority is 12 years.
- Ford Hermosillo holds a 96 percent FTT (first-time through) rank, which means 4 of 100 cars are returned for some repair or change after the test drive and quality check.
- The finished vehicles are sent by train to Arizona to be distributed throughout the United States.
- Because of the success of the Fusion model, Ford has reinvested in its U.S. plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, which is now also manufacturing the popular model.
