To meet anticipated demand for its aluminum-bodied Super Duty pickup trucks, Ford is investing $1.3 billion in upgrades at its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, including an all-new body shop and tooling.
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“This tremendous investment and commitment to new job creation reconfirms the strength of a more than century-long relationship between Kentucky and Ford Motor Company”, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said in a statement.
Kentucky Truck has produced more than 5 million Ford F-Series Super Duty trucks since it was introduced in 1999.
Kentucky Truck now employs about 4,400 – the vast majority of which are production workers represented by the United Auto Workers’ Local 862.
The Super Duty accounts for roughly one third of total F-series sales, which were up 1.5 percent to 629, 951 vehicles this year through October.
Kentucky has previously promised Ford up to $290 million in taxpayer money if the company invested at least $1.8 billion in its two Louisville plants by the end of 2017 and maintain at least 8,700 employees between the two plants.
“It will be a normal launch”, CEO Mark Fields said on Ford’s third-quarter earnings call October 27. “Such success highlights our members’ hard work and dedication to building world-class, quality vehicles like the Super Duty”. Both are built upon high-strength steel frames with an aluminum body to help save weight.
In addition to the Super Duty trucks, KTP also produces the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs.
These are XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum.
Dearborn Truck and Kansas City Assembly also received significant investments to retool those plants for the aluminum F-150, but Ford executives say the changeover won’t be as extensive for the Super Duty since they’ve been through it already.
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2017 Ford Super Duty truck production is to begin in late 2016, and so we ask you visit Ford for more details.
