Ford wheel plant expands for export

Press, 13 June 1984, Page 32

Ford wheel plant expands for export

PA Auckland Ford New Zealand will spend $4.7 million to expand its alloy wheel plant at Wiri to meet a big United States order. The company’s general manager, Mr Joe Auton, said this week the group had just won a deal to supply Ford US with 100,000 alloy'wheels a vear from 1985. Production at the Wiri plant in South Auckland would have to rise to 350,000 wheels a year. New Zealand already exported wheels to Australia and Europe and this latest

order would make it one of the world's major producers of wheels. Mr Auton said. The latest expansion would be the third to the Wiri wheel plant and should generate a further $7 million a year in exports and create 45 new jobs, he said. Mr Auton commented that New Zealand had too many car plants and some should be shut. New Zealand would have to follow moves by the Australian Government which wanted the number of car manufacturers cut from five to three, he said.

"Clearly, New Zealand, with nine manufacturers and 14 assembly plants in a market one quarter the size of Australia's will have to undergo similar surgery." said Mr Auton. He suggested that assemblers should get together and rationalise the number of models assembled locally and build them in three or four plants, leading to cheaper car assembly. The Government would soon announce plans for the motor industry and he hoped it would be as brave as the Australian Government had been, said Mr Auton.