Ford Motor Co. to manufacture Fusion in U.S. for first time
By Associated Press on Aug 30, 2013, at 2:26 AM Updated on 8/30/13 at 5:43 AM
Joe Hinrichs: "We could have sold more if we had more" Fusions this year, said Ford's president of the Americas.
Manufacturing
In just 12 years, natural gas plant builder Thomas Russell Co. grew from a Tulsa startup to a $750 million company.
Verallia North America's glass plant in Sapulpa is shutting down one furnace for the rest of the year because of slack demand.
For the first time, Ford is making its Fusion sedan in the U.S.
The company's plant in Flat Rock, Mich., began making the Fusion on Thursday.
The factory, about 25 miles south of Detroit, made the Ford Mustang sports car before getting a second shift of 1,400 workers to make the Fusion. The 66-acre plant now has 3,100 workers.
Ford Motor Co. had been making around 250,000 Fusions each year at its plant in Hermosillo, Mexico. But that wasn't keeping up with demand for the hot-selling midsize sedan, which was revamped last year. Sales this year are up 13 percent to 181,668 through July, making the Fusion one of the best-selling cars in the country.
"We could have sold more if we had more," Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of the Americas, told a cheering crowd of workers at the plant.
With the production at Flat Rock, Ford will be able to make 350,000 Fusions each year. Hinrichs said the cars being made Thursday would likely be sold within two weeks, a much faster rate than the 60-day average for the industry.
The Flat Rock plant was built by Mazda Motor Co. in 1987 and became a joint venture with Ford in 1992. Ford and Mazda severed their ties in 2010.
Manufacturing
In just 12 years, natural gas plant builder Thomas Russell Co. grew from a Tulsa startup to a $750 million company.
Verallia North America's glass plant in Sapulpa is shutting down one furnace for the rest of the year because of slack demand.
