Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., the two companies that pioneered mass production and lean manufacturing, are each celebrating important milestones this year.
DETROIT—Ford Motor Co. plans to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills for each vehicle that it builds by 41 percent as part of a five-year plan through 2016. Ford will reduce the waste generated per vehicle from 22.7 pounds in 2011 to 13.4 pounds.
DEARBORN, MI—Profit-sharing checks of approximately $8,300 will be sent to Ford Motor Co. hourly workers around the nation March 14. The checks are in response to the $8 billion in profit Ford’s North American operations earned last year.
DEARBORN, MI—Ford is spending about $773 million to expand six Michigan assembly plants while adding 2,350 factory jobs in the state, part of a broader investment plan announced last year. Ford aims to invest $6.2 billion in U.S. facilities and add 12,000 factory jobs across the country by 2015.
DETROIT—GE has agreed to buy 2,000 Ford C-MAX plug-in hybrid vehicles, as part of the conglomerate’s plan to convert half its global fleet to alternative fuel vehicles.
DETROIT—In a bid to cut the weight of its cars by up to 340 kilograms by the end of the decade, Ford Motor Co. is testing hoods and other auto body parts made from carbon fiber.
ATLANTA—Atlanta is renaming Henry Ford II Avenue to Ferdinand Porsche Avenue after the German automaker began building its new North American headquarters here.
