OREANDA-NEWS. June 18, 2015. Leaders from the UAW and Ford gathered with employees at the Chicago Assembly Plant (CAP) recently to celebrate the ceremonial launch of the 2016 Ford Explorer. 

“This marks a new chapter for the hardworking men and women who work at the Chicago Assembly Plant as we embark on producing the greatest generation of America’s SUV,” said Larry Moskwa, plant manager, CAP, who opened the festivities.

Joe Hinrichs, president, The Americas, talked about the incredible success that Ford has had with the Explorer since the vehicle launched 25 years ago.

“Since 1990 we’ve sold more than 7 million Explorers, making it the best-selling midsize SUV in America,” he said to a thunderous round of applause. 

Hinrichs said the Explorer, which started arriving in dealer showrooms last month, is off to a strong sales start, with May retail sales up 24 percent over last year. He emphasized that the success of the vehicle is due to the hard work done each and every day by the people who work at CAP. 

“To all the Ford employees here in Chicago, your trailblazing spirit and dedication to excellence are invaluable to Ford. I can’t tell you enough how important the Explorer is to our business,” he said. “Since 1990, we’ve sold an Explorer about every two minutes for 25 years.” 

Hinrichs also stressed the importance of Ford’s solid relationship with the UAW. 

“Coming together around a shared goal and becoming more competitive with foreign automakers, we’ve been able to work together since 2007 and 2011 to add and insource products, to grow investments across our U.S. manufacturing facilities and to add new jobs,” he said, noting that in the last four years Ford has invested more than \\$6.2 billion in its U.S. manufacturing plants and added more than 15,000 UAW jobs.   

Hinrichs singled out a special CAP employee, Phillip Pryor, who is celebrating his 50th year of service at the plant. Fellow employees in the crowd cheered for Pryor, who was presented with a plaque and honored with his own personal parking space just outside the plant doors.

Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president and director, National Ford Department, commended Pryor and gave special thanks to all of the people who work in Ford manufacturing in Chicago.

“You guys do such great quality work here in Chicago.  We have made this iconic car continue to grow. We now export more Explorers than we have any other vehicle in America,” he said. “One of these Explorers takes my wife and grandchildren around, so my wife told me to give you a special thank you. It’s such a beautiful, comfortable car. So I thank you, and my wife and grandchildren thank you.”

Following the program, Settles and Hinrichs drove the symbolic first 2016 Explorer off the assembly line, and employees gathered around for pictures. 

Hugh Ferguson III, who works in the Quality Control department at CAP, said it was a moving event. “We have a lot of new employees and they don’t see this kind of notoriety or see our officials who are upper management in the company come down and greet them,” he said. “I think it’s a very good, positive thing that we should do more often.” 

Manny Salazar, who works in Pre-delivery at CAP, said it was a “beautiful celebration. It’s always nice to see upper management come and inspire us,” continued Salazar, who has been working at the plant for 20 years. “I’ve seen the evolution of the Explorer. It’s got everything – technology, safety, security. It’s a phenomenal car. Who doesn’t want to have one, right?”

Ida Henderson Small, who works as an auditor at the plant, checking for chips, scratches, dents and the overall performance of the car to make sure it’s right for the customer, said she’s particularly proud of the quality of the new Explorer. “It’s an amazing car, and we take pride in building it,” she said. 

Chicago Assembly Plant
When you think about the fact that Ford has sold an Explorer almost every two minutes since the vehicle first launched 25 years ago, it’s easy to understand the importance that the Chicago Assembly Plant (CAP) plays in generating revenue for the company. 

And the Explorer is not the only vehicle manufactured at CAP. The plant, which employs roughly 4,200 workers, builds five successful products under one roof:  the Ford Explorer, Ford Taurus, Ford Police Interceptor Sedan, Ford Police Interceptor Utility and the Lincoln MKS. Two of those vehicles, the Explorer and the Taurus, are best-in-class.

“We have great products, and the people on the floor have passion and a winning attitude. They’re resilient and they really want to come together with the One Ford team to build excellent products for a long time out of Chicago,” said Moskwa.   

Moskwa said he believes teaching is one of the most important ways to foster a feeling of pride among employees.

“When you communicate with 4,200 people you have to help them understand what their actions mean, what passion means and what delivering customer expectations means to them specifically and not just to Ford Motor Company,” he said. “This plant generated \\$2 billion last year. That’s huge. The company and the customers are entrusting us with that level of business. Knowing that is what grows the passion.”

Moskwa said he is a firm believer in the power of communication. He recently instituted a safety kiosk in the middle of the floor at CAP where team members from every area meet each day to discuss safety issues and resolve problems, usually within 24 hours.  

“Keeping people safe is our No. 1 priority,” he said. “When that two-way communication starts, things start getting fixed. People start getting excited. The morale goes up. And the quality of the products produced at the plant inherently goes up.”

Moskwa said the Explorer means a lot to the people at CAP.

“We know that the Explorer has been America’s favorite midsize SUV for 25 years,” he said. “To have a product of that caliber in your facility and to be able to have the launch of the new one is just huge to the viability of the plant, which means the viability of the people.”

Chicago Stamping Plant
The Chicago Stamping Plant (CSP) plays a pivotal role in the production of the Explorer.

“We produce all the exterior sheet metal and roughly 75 to 80 percent of the vehicle underbody,” said David Dronebarger, plant manager, CSP. “It’s a big, big part of our business.”

CSP is located in Chicago Heights, about a 30-minute drive from CAP. It employs more than 1,300 workers and stamps parts for the Taurus, Flex, Escape, Expedition, Focus, Transit, Lincoln MKS and Lincoln MKC. However, Dronebarger estimates that 60 percent of the stamping done at the plant is for Explorer.

“We make the parts for the Explorer that the customer sees – the front end and the back end of the vehicle,” he said. “They get a lot of visibility, and it’s a proud moment for all of us when we see those vehicles driving down the road.” 

The work performed while stamping parts for the Explorer is crucial to the smooth flow of operations at CAP.

“Our facility is set up to supply just-in-time products to CAP, so there is very little room for error. You can’t miss a beat,” he said. “The delivery has to be spot-on and the quality has to be perfect, because within 24 hours the parts we make are being put on vehicles on the assembly line.”

CSP added nearly 500 workers to the facility to support additional shifts and the Transit program. Dronebarger said a lot of work goes in to making sure that employees are trained properly and that they understand how their work affects the quality of the product. 

“And it’s not just training people in production,” he said. “It’s our Materials, Planning and Logistics organization and how the structure is set up with the numbering and sequencing of parts going over to the assembly plant.”

CSP – which ships materials to nine different facilities throughout the world – boasts some of the best safety metrics in the company.

“There’s no doubt that the people in this facility are driving to get recognition as one of the best stamping suppliers in the company,” said Dronebarger. “There are a lot of talented people and a lot of folks who have been through the ups and downs in this facility over the years, working together to create a new image for the Chicago Stamping Plant.”

Dronebarger said it’s an honor to stamp parts for the Explorer.

“It’s in recognition of the job we did on the outgoing model that we were awarded the work for the new model,” he said. “We need to be proud of that. We can’t take it for granted because it is an honor. We earned this.”