We visited the Ford Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan.   Construction on the Rogue plant began in 1917 and was completed in 1928.  At that time it was the largest integrated factory in the world. 

Over the years this plant has produced fifteen Ford products including the second generation Model A, V-8,  Thunderbird and Mustang.

Now it is the production home of the Ford F-150, the best selling truck in the US for 46 years. 

Our tour started with two theater events The first was a movie sponsored jointly by Ford and the United Automotive, Aerospace and Agricultural Implements Workers (UAW).  

We hadn’t known that UAW had a broader membership base than auto workers.

The movie repeated some of what we had learned at the Piquette Plant Tour but added a segment about labor relations. Ford resisted union organizers passionately (and physically) because he thought he’d already done enough for his employees.  He doubled their wages at one point.  It took four years, but Ford employees did eventually unionize.

While Henry Ford was in charge, he emphasized bringing in all necessary raw materials and making everything in house.  Under this management style, raw materials were turned into a car within 72 hours.

In a move that Henry Ford would not have approved, many components are now outsourced.  The Rouge plant has only enough back stock for a few days of production.

Our second theater event involved video, robotic arms and visual imagery to build an F-150 right before our eyes.  It gave us a very good overview for what we would see later on the assembly line floor.

We explored some of the exhibits in the visitor center and Randy looked over the 2021 Hybrid F-150. This truck is a pre-production version of the hybrid model of the F-150. It combined a 3.5-liter turbocharged V-6 with a lithium-ion battery and 35-kilowatt electric motor, producing 430 horsepower. The hybrid engine has 20% better fuel economy. Ford Truck customers are able to choose the powertrain that most suited their needs – gas-powered internal combustion engine, hybrid gas-electric or full electric. My original research didn’t find that the hybrid F-150s were available but reader Mark has seen and driven a hybrid. Cool!

We went to an observation deck for a view of the Rouge Factory grounds.

The dark building in the distance is the stamping plant.  It is the size of 50 football fields.  Military grade aluminum is used for body parts.  The aluminum scraps from the process are collected and turned into chips and recycled.  The recycled aluminum collected in one month, 20 million pounds, is enough for 51 jumbo jets or 37,000 Ford F-150s.

The building with the stacks is for painting.  Body parts are run through a primer pool and then spray painted by robots.

Final assembly occurs in the very large building under the living roof.  This is the view from above the roof in the observation deck. This building is the size of ten football fields and is the only one we were able to tour.

The living roof utilizes several varieties of ground cover and, including the ivy on the sides, lowers the inside temperature by ten degrees. The insulation factor and the use of skylights reduce the amount of electricity needed to run that portion of the plant.  The roof also cleans the air and absorbs rainwater. It saves the company significant money over a traditional roof and is thought to have double the lifespan.

The new electric truck The F150 Lightning is produced on the same plant grounds but in a separate building.

Unfortunately there were no pictures allowed inside the plant.  We walked above and around the work being done below to create the world’s most popular truck for the last 46 years, the Ford F-150.

The 4.5 mile production line allows 53 seconds for each “job” whether it involves a robot putting in the windshield or an assembly line employee clipping in a rear light.  A new F150 comes out of the Rouge Plant every 53 seconds.

The new truck is one of nine body types, on one of three chassis,  with over 1000 combinations of options.

The assembly line computers are programmed to build each truck to the specifications of the buyer.  Thirteen hundred trucks come off the line every day and all are pre-sold.  None are going out for dealer stock.

Once the truck is built, it gets 8 gallons of fuel and goes for a 2-3 mile test drive.  If quality control is satisfied,  the truck is complete. It is shipped out to its new owner within 24-48 hours.

The rouge factory seems like an engineering marvel of consistency and efficiency.  It also seems like a very boring job!

The workers do the same thing, or a very slightly modified version of the same thing based on the model, every 53 seconds for hours!  We were told they sometimes trade jobs within their 10 person team to mix it up.

Workers seemed to wear whatever clothes they wanted.  Some wore ear protection and many wore earbuds, presumably listening to music or audiobooks.

Randy did research on the average wage for beginning assembly workers at Ford – $20 per hour.  We assume their compensation includes good benefits negotiated by the union, but we were surprised it wasn’t more money per hour.

Next up: One of Henry Ford’s “gifts” to Dearborn – The Henry Ford Museum of Innovation