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Ford Norfolk Assembly Plant Year-End Results

17 February 1999

Ford Norfolk Assembly Plant Year-End Results

    NORFOLK, Va., Feb. 16 -- Norfolk and the state of Virginia
were beneficiaries of the record profits at Ford's Norfolk Assembly Plant in
1998.
    The Norfolk Assembly Plant, which employs 2,411 employees contributed $161
million to the state and local economies last year. Plant manager Thomas
Phillips said, "This figure includes more than $156 million in wages and over
$4 million in taxes -- an $8 million increase over 1997."
    In 1998, the average weekly wage at the plant was up five percent from the
previous year.
    In 1998, the Norfolk plant achieved an environmental milestone by earning
ISO-14001 status. ISO-14001, which is an internationally recognized standard,
requires the Norfolk plant to use a stringent environmental management system
to establish, monitor and continually improve its environmental performance.
Ford's Norfolk plant is the only facility of its size to gain ISO
certification in Virginia. All 140 Ford plants worldwide have achieved
ISO-14001 certification.
    The Norfolk plant also became a "River Star," one of several local
businesses that have signed onto the Elizabeth River Project. This program is
designed to clean up and restore the industrialized landscape on what has been
called one of the most polluted waterways on the East Coast.
    Charitable organizations benefited from the Norfolk plant's prosperity.
Ford and its local employees donated a record $317,798 to area civic,
educational and charitable organizations through the United Way and the
plant's Community Relations Committee. In addition, plant employees provided a
bountiful holiday collection for Toys for Tots and the Food Bank of
Southeastern Virginia.
    The Norfolk Assembly Plant produced 221,536 F-Series pickup trucks in
1998. Since its opening in 1925, the plant has produced 6,289,049 vehicles as
of December 31, 1998.