| Ford may double production in Vsevolozhsk The Russian division of the American corporation Ford - Ford Motor Company CJSC - can double the production of cars at its plant near St. Petersburg, to 150 thousand per year. This was discussed yesterday at a meeting between the Governor of the Leningrad Region Valery Serdyukov and the Vice President of Ford Europe Jim Titro, ITAR-TASS reports. However, as the vice-governor of the Leningrad region Grigory Dvas explained, the company has not yet made a final decision on expanding production.
However, to implement these plans, Ford needs to solve a number of problems, first of all, to provide the enterprise with qualified personnel and overcome difficulties with the supply of components. According to Mr. Dvas, Ford is exploring the possibility of supplying components through the container terminal in Ust-Luga. After negotiations with representatives of the Leningrad region administration, the Ford delegation even visited the Kengisepp district to see firsthand how the Ust-Luga terminals are being built. Historically, Danish Kengisepp is almost Europe; here lies the border of Russia with the Baltic and Scandinavian countries. And the government of the Leningrad region places great hopes on the Ust-Luga terminal.
But the port in Ust-Luga is not the only condition for expanding Ford's capacity in Russia. The company's decision will also depend on the prospects for creating a technology park for the production of components in the Leningrad region itself on the basis of Russian Diesel (a company in Vsevolozhsk, which includes enterprises producing parts for engines and other machinery, as well as spare parts).
A spokeswoman for the Russian representative office of Ford, Ekaterina Kulinenko, said yesterday: “Theoretically, we could increase production almost from the very beginning of the enterprise in 2002. I have no right to comment on the confidential negotiations of the concern’s leaders, I can only confirm that we are considering the possibility of increasing production volume, but the decision on this will depend on the demand (for our cars - Ed. ) in the market.”
Increasing capacity in Russia would solve the problem with the supply of cars, because the models produced in Vsevolozhsk are very popular. The growth in demand for Ford cars allowed the company to increase production volume in just ten months of this year by more than 88%, to 48.6 thousand cars. But the queue to buy these cars at dealerships still remains long, although it has decreased to less than six months from nine months. At the same time, Russian Ford reached its design production capacity of 72 thousand cars per year only in August of this year. Before this, the company had to go through a number of difficult moments related to claims from customs services, and also renegotiate agreements with the government on transferring its production to industrial assembly mode.
Meanwhile, starting next year, the plant in Vsevolozhsk is among the first Ford enterprises planning to begin production of the updated Ford Focus model. Anna LANDER |
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