Photo: Ford Romania
Romania isn’t just the place of origin for the Dacia brand, but the country where Ford builds the B-Max. The Ford Craiova plant, however, will also manufacture the facelifted EcoSport.
It was officially announced in March 2016 that the Craiova plant would undertake this task. Now, though, the Ford Motor Company’s Romanian division returned with a handful of photographs depicting the upgraded factory, as well as a handful of information previously not made public.
Following a €200 million investment (approximately $224 million), production of the EcoSport crossover is slated to begin this fall. The small-sided crossover manufactured in Romania will be sold in Europe. By comparison, the U.S.-spec 2018 Ford EcoSport will be made in Chennai, India.
In the body shop, the existing 320 industrial robots that handle B-Max production will be supplemented by 190 multifunctional robots that will put the Euro-spec EcoSport together. According to Ford Romania, the factory's body shop ate up almost half of the €200 million investment.
Ford Craiova’s general assembly area, the place where a B-Max rolls off the line every 100 seconds, was upgraded with additional work stations for the EcoSport. In addition to that, the median level conveyor was extended by almost 30 meters. Production was also enhanced with a new elevator.
"We are up to date on everything related to the transformation of the factory in Craiova,” declared John Oldham, Ford Romania president, “which is increasingly closer to receive new EcoSport on its production lines. Our teams are fully dedicated to providing an excellent product launch, even more so since we want to show that the factory in Craiova is the perfect home for the new EcoSport thanks to the excellent people and operations Ford has here."
At the present moment, Ford Craiova employs 2,630 people who manufacture the B-Max multi-purpose vehicle and the 1.0-liter EcoBoost turbo three-cylinder engine. Since Ford took control of the Craiova plant from Daewoo in 2008, the Blue Oval invested more than €1 billion in local production.
Following a €200 million investment (approximately $224 million), production of the EcoSport crossover is slated to begin this fall. The small-sided crossover manufactured in Romania will be sold in Europe. By comparison, the U.S.-spec 2018 Ford EcoSport will be made in Chennai, India.
In the body shop, the existing 320 industrial robots that handle B-Max production will be supplemented by 190 multifunctional robots that will put the Euro-spec EcoSport together. According to Ford Romania, the factory's body shop ate up almost half of the €200 million investment.
Ford Craiova’s general assembly area, the place where a B-Max rolls off the line every 100 seconds, was upgraded with additional work stations for the EcoSport. In addition to that, the median level conveyor was extended by almost 30 meters. Production was also enhanced with a new elevator.
"We are up to date on everything related to the transformation of the factory in Craiova,” declared John Oldham, Ford Romania president, “which is increasingly closer to receive new EcoSport on its production lines. Our teams are fully dedicated to providing an excellent product launch, even more so since we want to show that the factory in Craiova is the perfect home for the new EcoSport thanks to the excellent people and operations Ford has here."
At the present moment, Ford Craiova employs 2,630 people who manufacture the B-Max multi-purpose vehicle and the 1.0-liter EcoBoost turbo three-cylinder engine. Since Ford took control of the Craiova plant from Daewoo in 2008, the Blue Oval invested more than €1 billion in local production.
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