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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday June 4, 2008 - 3 GARDEN RENOVATIONS? MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER CENTRE OF ATTENTION: The 2009 Ford Flex was officially launched with much fanfare at the Oakvillle Assembly Complex Tuesday morning. Ford sees great demand for Flex GIVE YOUR OUTSIDE THE FACTORY TILE TOUCH See our design team to transform your space We specialize in importing and supplying quality Granite, Caesarstone, Marble, Ceramics, Porcelain and Natural Stone Continued from page 1 Fuel efficiency for the Ford Flex is one of the best in the crossover market, said Field. The Flex gets 17 miles per gallon in the city and 24 miles per gallon on the highway. "That puts it near or best in the class of seven seat vehicles," said Field. "Our dealers are absolutely hungry for this vehicle. We get so many calls saying `When are the vehicles coming.' We've got orders in the system. We've got customers waiting for this vehicle. We think this is the start of something special." So great is the faith of the Oakville Ford plant in the Flex and the other crossovers it is manufacturing, that the automaker is in the process of hiring 500 more workers, who will make up a third shift that will be added to the assembly plant during the summer. "We've got laid off people in Windsor who have the right to come here and so far we've got about 50 and I understand another 50-75 will be migrating here," said Kenneth Minielly, Oakville plant manager. "Aside from that probably two thirds of the people will be fresh right off the street." This hiring greatly contrasts what is happening with the rest of the auto industry in Ontario with GM announcing, the same day of the Ford Flex's launch, that it will be closing its plant in Oshawa and thus eliminating around 1,000 jobs. Minielly is confident this will not be happening in Oakville any time soon. "The Edge and the MKX (crossovers also manufactured at the Oakville plant) have been a big success in the marketplace. It's actually exceeded our expectations over the last 19 months. The company has invested a lot of money into keeping those products fresh and this (Ford Flex) is very innovative and daring," he said. "We think that we'll easily sell 100,000 in the first year. There's been an unbelievable amount of interest in this vehicle more than anything we've seen in at least the last five or seven years." The ability of the plant's assembly line to process more than one type of vehicle simultaneously is also expected to keep the Oakville plant from going the way of Oshawa "With the addition of the Ford Flex to the production schedule, Oakville is a good example of how Ford Motor Company is moving towards flexible manufacturing in North America," said Joe Hinrichs, Group Vice President of Global Manufacturing, Ford Motor Company. "Here we're building three vehicles on two unique platforms in one body shop and on one assembly line. Flexible manufacturing is a key enabler to delivering more products people want faster. This means plants like Oakville can adapt to shifts in consumer demand more quickly." Currently the Ford Flex makes up about one third of the vehicles being produced with the plant currently capable of making around 600 Ford Flexes every day, depending on consumer demand. This capacity will go up significantly in the summer when the 500 new workers are added to the line. Both the federal and provincial governments chipped in $100 million into Ford's $1 billion investment into the Oakville flexible manufacturing facility in 2004. Yesterday, each had a representative present to congratulate the plant's workers on another triumph. Minister of Industry Jim Prentice noted that the timing of the Ford Flex's introduction to the market could not be better. "It's been a particularly tough year for the industry with a slow down in the United States market, a high Canadian dollar and con- sumer tastes responding to record high prices at the pumps," he said. "I certainly welcome the news that now that the Flex is going into production Ford is hiring 500 new workers at the Oakville complex bringing the total employment at this facility to an excess of 4,300 people." Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn also expressed delight at the continued success of Ontario's investment. "The productivity and the flexibility of this facility combined with the advancements that are coming from the research and development centre make the Oakville Assembly Complex one of the most advanced assembly facilities in all of North America," he said. "It should be a source of pride for Ford. It should be a source of pride for its workers and it certainly is a source of pride to the government of Ontario." Bob Chernecki, assistant to CAW (Canadian Auto Workers) president Buzz Hargrove, called for the government of Canada to break down the trade barriers that keep Canadian-made cars from thriving in the international export market. "I'd love to see this product in a Chinese showroom," said Chernecki, over the thunderous applause of the audience. "I'd love to see this product in a Korean showroom. We can't do that today. We have to have a free market where we don't have a barrier that keep our great products out of showrooms all around this great world." The presentation closed with a surprise appearance from Wayne Gretzky who was driven onto the stage in a Ford Flex. "It's wonderful," said Gretzky as he emerged from the car. "It's a great car, it's great looking and congratulations to everyone here. I know a lot of teamwork was put into this effort, it's a lot like playing hockey, you've got to have teamwork and you guys did a great job." 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