Ford to Invest $192 Million in Michigan Engine Plant

DETROIT May 15, 2003; Norihiko Shirouzu writing for the WSJ reported that Ford Motor Co. said yesterday it will invest $192 million in a plant in Romeo, Mich., to install a new so-called flexible-manufacturing system and start producing a new V-8 engine.

"We are building a network of flexible powertrain plants that can respond quickly to changing market needs," Roman Krygier, Ford group vice president of global manufacturing and quality, said in a statement.

The Romeo, Mich., plant, north of Detroit, is expected to start building the new engine, a 4.6-liter V-8 engine with three valves per cylinder, in late 2005, Ford said.

Ford, the No. 2 auto maker after General Motors Corp. (GM), said it will convert an existing engine-assembly line to transform the plant into a dual-line that can build both 2-valve and 3-valve versions of the 4.6-liter engine.

But the major investment, Ford said, is in the plant's cylinder-head line. The company said it is installing a new cylinder-head line with new flexible computer numerically controlled machines. The line will have capacity to produce 400,000 cylinder heads a year, the auto maker said.

The new V-8 engine is expected to power a variety of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles, including sport-utility vehicles such as the Explorer and passenger cars.

Ford said the new V-8 engine will have two air intake valves and one exhaust valve per cylinder for 24 valves in total, which the company said are expected to provide more efficient combustion and thus better fuel economy.

The new engine is expected to be as much as 5% more fuel efficient than Ford's current 4.6-liter V-8 engine, said a spokesman.