The Oakville Beaver. Wednesday June 11. 2003 - FORD 11 ( J e / e / r a f i / t y ci ( n ' / f f u r i j o / < ia c c e s s ' a / f t / r / t / / i y J /c a /s s i / t 0 a / t r i f / e Ford of Canada has built better vehicles, better community Story by Howard Mozel Ford of Canada's 50 years in Oakville have not only been about build ing quality vehicles, says Mayor Ann Mulvale, but also about building a better community. "The commitment this corporation has shown to Oakville is truly awesome," she said. "W e are proud of your achievements." " The commitment this corporation has shown to Oakville is truly awesome, " said Mayor Atm Mulvale. "We are proud o f your achievements. " Mulvale made her comments on May 12, 2003 at the Oakville Assembly Plant (OAP), world producer of the Ford Windstar, during a reception held to celebrate the facility's birthday - 50 years and one day after the first four-door Custom sedan rolled off the assembly line in 1953. Both union members and administration, for example, have stead fastly helped with the annual United Way campaign, Mulvale explained. The company has similarly come to the aid of OakvilleTrafalgar Memorial Hospital and made a "significant contribution" to the new YMCA. Regional Chair Joyce Savoline - who drove to the event in her sec ond Windstar - added that Ford is not just a contributor to Halton's economic viability but is also an integral component of its "social fab ric" from fundraising to hockey coaching. " I don't have to tell you how important Ford is to Oakville and Halton," she said. Looking beyond the plant's immediate borders, Oakville MP Bonnie Brown said Ford is "critical to the Canadian economy" and added that she brought greetings and congratulations from no less than the Prime Minister. "You've certainly come a long way," she said. "Ford's success in Canada and Ford's dedication to Canada is nothing less than extraor dinary." The plant is nothing without its workers, of course, so Plant Manager Todd Bryant made a special point of thanking the thousands of men and women employed there. "This tremendous workforce has served Ford with dedication and dis tinction," said Bryant, whose father worked at the plant. "We lived and breathed Ford. It was the very fabric of our lives." Canadian Auto Workers Local 707 (also celebrating its first 50 years) was likewise given its due by union plant chair Phil Klug. "This is a very important day for the Oakville Assembly Plant," he said. "Today we celebrate our past ... but I hope there's 100, 150, 200 more years." The OAP was constructed in what was a farm field in Trafalgar Township starting back in 1952 at a price tag of S65-million. Then it was approximately 1.3 million square feet (today it's grown to 3.8 million square feet) and produced 122,581 cars during its first year of operation, employing more than 3,000 people in the process. Since 1953, OAP has produced more than 9.7 million vehicles and currently employs 3,400 workers. Its assembly line now runs for 28 miles and includes 440 robots. OAP's first vehicles were the Ford Meteor and Mercury Monarch cars. Since then, it has produced nameplates ranging from the Falcon, Torino, Escort and Econoline to - since 1994 - more than two million Windstars. As seen by the OAP's history, however, change is the order of things and the immediate future of the facility is no exception. According to Bryant, the last Windstar will roll off the line this July, to be replaced in the fall by the Ford Freestar - prototypes of which have already been built at the plant. According to Ford of Canada Brand Manager Bill Rowe, the minivan includes so many new features, safety improvements and other qual ity enhancements that it deserved a whole new nameplate. "Our objective is to build no less than the finest minivan in Ford's his tory," said Bryant. Added Batty: "The Ford Freestar is a very important product for Ford of Canada and shows our commitment to Canada as a great place to do business." To create the Freestar, Ford has invested millions into the OAP, notably the "robot-intensive" body assembly area designed to pro vide spot-perfect welds in a more environmentally friendly workplace. Installation of this high-tech equipment in OAP's new 120,000 square foot body assembly area began last October. This investment includes 170 new robots in a facility which - unlike the old body shop - is powered by pneumatics and electricity, eliminating hydraulic motors. The first Ford vehicle - a four-door " Custom sedan - rolled o ff the assembly line a t Ontario's Oakville Assembly Plant (OAP) fifty years ago, on May 11, 1953. " A SUCCESSFUL 50 YEAR RELATIONSHIP. WHO DO YOU HAVE WORKING THERE, DR. PHIL? Congratulations to Ford and the Town of Oakville for 50 wonderful years of working together. Y&R