Ford plans to sell French transmission factory

Ford Motor Co. today said it plans to sell its automatic transmission factory near Bordeaux to HZ Holding France SAS.


Ford would not say how much it is getting for the plant, which is located in the French city of Blanquefort. But the company said there would be no change in employment at the plant. Moreover, HZ Holding will invest over 200 million euros in the facility between now and 2013

"When we revealed our intention to sell the Bordeaux automatic transmission plant, we firmly stated our intention to secure future production opportunities and safeguard as many jobs as possible at the site," said John Fleming, CEO of Ford of Europe. "With today's announcement, I think it is clear we have met those commitments. For us it was more important that we find a bidder with a strong commitment to keeping as many jobs as possible rather than a bidder willing to pay the highest price."

The French company said it will expand production at the site to including components for the green energy sector.

"These projects will include the manufacturing of large bearing rings for wind turbines, an extension of the existing heat treatment facility at Blanquefort, joint ventures with an Italian and a German company to manufacture transmission-related parts and other activities related to metal treatment," said Markus Ziegler, president of HZ Holding. "To implement these projects we will be cooperating closely with three companies in the automotive and renewable energies sector. Our major cooperation partner is Johann Hay Automobiltechnik, a highly regarded German automotive supplier. We already have a very positive relationship with them through joint work at Ascoforge, a French forging company acquired by HZ Holding in 2007."

The factory will continue to supply automatic transmissions to Ford until 2011. Ford said it would work closely with HZ Holding in identifying new automotive industry customers for the Bordeaux-made automatic transmissions.

The deal is still subject to regulatory approval, but the Dearborn automaker said it hopes to complete the sale by the end of April.

[Source : Detroit News]