Ford recently produced the first batch of trial Ranger Raptor units emerging at Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria.
Read our driving impression of the Ranger Raptor here.
In preparation for full-scale production of thisĀ all-new model, the Silverton Assembly Plant produced its first 10 official Ranger Raptor units as part of the Tooling Trials (TT) build-up phase, validating its high-tech assembly line that received an extensive upgrade through Ford’s R3-billion investment in its local operations, announced last year.
“This is a momentous occasion for everyone at Ford, as we witnessed our first Ranger Raptor TT unit coming off the line after more than 18 months of extensive upgrades and modifications to the Silverton assembly plant,” said Ockert Berry, VP Operations, Ford Middle East and Africa.
“We continue to invest in our local operations to meet growing demand for the Ranger, and are currently introducing new equipment on the assembly line to improve the handling of the chassis turn-over, adding incremental buffers in the Trim, Chassis and Final line as well as new shipping conveyors in the Fitment Centre,” Berry adds. “This is an additional R160-million investment in readiness for our expanded production capacity, commencing early next year.”