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Established in 1995, Ford India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. It manufactures and distributes automobiles made at its modern integrated manufacturing facility, at Maraimalai Nagar, near Chennai. With over 2300 employees, the company's models include the new Figo, Ikon, Fusion, Endeavour and the Fiesta. The Chennai plant has an annual capacity of 250,000 engines, and, over the next decade, Chennai may become the company's focal point for diesel and gasoline engine exports.

Ford's new plant is all set to double production. Currently, a single production line produces approximately 60,000 diesel engines a year. The new advanced manufacturing centre at Maraimalai Nagar will be using part of Ford's $500 million investment. It has been designed to meet India's growing vehicle needs and has also been created with the world's best practices for engine manufacturing. But the story is about much more than doubling production capacity. It's about introducing volume manufacturing processes benchmarked against other global manufacturers, and the best of the Indian manufacturers, for quality and production efficiency.

Initially, the common rail 1.4L diesel engine and the new 1.2L petrol engine will be assembled at the plant. Both engines, along with locally sourced Ford's IB5 transmissions, are being fitted in the new Ford Figo. The engines are based on Ford's SIGMA engines. Displacement for the SIGMA engines range up to 1.6L and are available with 5-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmissions. Countries in the ASEAN region will be the first to receive the SIGMA 1.4L and 1.6L engines. The new line carries the potential of handling both diesel and petrol engines simultaneously.

The engine production begins with raw castings of blocks, cylinder heads and crankshafts arriving for final machining at the facility. The 16,000 sq.mt four-axis CNC machining centre with a central coolant facility is fully flexible. A fully automated Gantry loading system works on the crankshafts. Following final machining, quality checks for metal purity and state-of-the-art inspection using Coordinated Measuring Machines will be carried out. Around 37 per cent of the 900-metre engine assembly line is fully or semi-automated and the new expansion has created nearly 700 new jobs at the plant.

100 per cent quality being the motto, in Chennai, Ford has four engine dynamometers on which production engines are thoroughly tested. On-road durability and endurance testing in all road conditions is also evaluated. Assembled engines are subjected to tormenting cold tests including pre-injection for fuel injectors, sensor connectivity, simulated Noise Vibration Harshness (NVH) testing and camshaft positioning. Under normal operations, one engine is inspected per 500 built.

Quality levels at the engine plant are expected to reach even higher with the new global Class 8 ISO processes and practices in place. They ensure minimal dust and particulate levels are maintained throughout the plant. An extensive automation drive brings new levels of precision and quality to the Maraimalai Nagar plant. It uses high-tech robotics for key operations throughout the production process, including flexible underbody welding and upper body framing fixtures to handle complex and cumbersome tasks with high levels of precision which forms the foundation of lasting quality. A total of 92 new robots have been installed in key areas of the body shop, paint shop and final assembly.

A new 3.2-kilometre circuit developed on the plant's expanded grounds allows engineers to conduct rigorous 40-kilometre quality test drives on new cars. Every new vehicle undergoes a squeak-and-rattle torture course too to verify build quality. India's unique monsoons inspired Ford's water-wading test, which involves driving through water 450 mm deep to ensure there's no leakage. Robotic framing machines build the car body structure quickly and accurately. The welding robots have new servo motor welding guns that are quieter and deliver cleaner high-quality welds. The plant uses automatic error-proofing technology to measure build precision.