The heart of the matter

Our long-term Ford Ranger Thunder will be soon be embarking on festive season duties but before that, it had the opportunity to stretch its legs for a visit to where its 2.0-litre bi-turbodiesel heart is made, the Struandale Engine Plant in Port Elizabeth.

A facility that has been part of the Blue Oval’s history since 1964, the visit to Struandale, also saw our Thunder being reunited with the 3.2 Wildtrak owned by this writer’s father for the reunion with their respective powerunits outside the entry to the plant.

Able to produce a new engine every 120 seconds and 410 in 24 hours, Plant Manager Shawn Govender had no hesitation in identifying the biggest highlight for the plant.

“A lot of money has been spend by Ford from a capex perspective [into the facility]” which is really great from a job perspective”, Govender said in response to the initial R3.4-billion investment announced a decade ago, and after a further R3-billion was afforded in 2018 for production of the single-and-bi-turbo Puma engines.

Govender further stated that Dearborn’s reliance on Struandale from a global perspective remains important as the plant currently rates the sole facility to produce machined components for the 2.2 and 3.2 Duratorq TDCi Puma engines.

“We not only send fully assembled engines, but cranks, heads and blocks to plants in Thailand and Argentina where is it assembled and then put into their vehicles, so it is a dual role we are playing in the global supply chain. We are also exporting a small percentage of the Panther engines, but the bulk is supplied to Silverton for the local market,” Govender said. “Ideally, we would love to be the sole producer of the Panther engine. We want to get to a consolidated point where get everything into this facility and become the prime supplier for Panther globally, but this is still a long way off.”

Despite the plant’s focus on the Puma and Panther families, Govender added that its capacities are not limited.

“We have a team working specifically on bringing new business to the facility, not only engines, but also transmissions, con-rods, camshafts and just about anything to get business into this facility,” he added.