The development of Africa’s first automotive city in Tshwane is coming to fruition, with the completion of a high-tech stamping plant that will produce the next-generation Ford Ranger.
In February 2021, Ford Motor Company SA announced an investment of $1.05 billion (R15.8 billion) in the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ), which is billed as Africa’s first automotive city, based at Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria.
The automaker said the investment was the biggest in Ford’s 97-year history in SA. It would be channelled towards multiple projects, including the construction of the TASEZ; developing new advanced technologies and systems to modernise and grow the Ford Silverton Assembly Plant; and creating an additional 1 200 jobs to support expanded vehicle production of its Ranger pickup truck.
Ford says its new high-tech, five-stage stamping plant is a fully automated system producing 67 different parts to meet installed capacity of 200 000 vehicles per year at the Silverton plant.
Automotive manufacturers use stamping plants as a cost-effective method to create vehicle metal parts.
According to the automaker, the vast facility is equivalent to almost 1.5-times the size of a standard soccer field.
“Our new Stamping Plant is a first for Ford in South Africa,” says Rhys Davies, site transformation manager at the Ford Silverton Assembly Plant.
“Previously, we used external suppliers to stamp our metal body parts, but we decided to set up our own stamping plant for the next-gen Ranger, which will go into production later this year.
“With our focus on delivering the highest levels of quality and efficiency for the next-gen Ranger, it was essential that we brought the stamping operations in-house. This ensures we are able to control the production quality throughout the stamping process, validate that all parts are within specification, and then seamlessly deliver them directly to our new body shop located adjacent to the stamping plant.”
Developed through a joint partnership with Ford Motor Company, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), Gauteng Provincial Government and City of Tshwane, the 162.6-hectare automotive city was established as part of the 2035 Automotive Master Development Plan. The plan was set out by the DTIC, with the aim to help the automotive sector become a globally competitive and transformed industry.
The stamping plant comprises five tandem presses, which stamp the flat sheet metal into the various inner and outer body panels required for all three body styles of the Ranger.
It will process 272 tons of steel per day, using the GOM ATOS ScanBox to ensure accurate scanning of parts for maximum production quality, notes the automaker.
“We have 47 die sets with a total of 208 dies producing 67 different parts, including the floorpan, body sides, roof, bonnet, doors and loadbox,” says Jan Groenewald, area manager for the stamping plant.
“To facilitate the movement of the heavy dies, the facility is equipped with a 50-ton automated sling crane, two 60/20 sling cranes and a 50-ton semi gantry crane.”
The automotive city is expected to house new state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies that will drive efficiencies across the South African automotive ecosystem. Almost 20 companies have already been engaged to set up operations in the vicinity, says Ford.
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