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Front Page » Going Ford
New Process Gives Ford Styling Flexibility
Staff, Wednesday November 21, 2001.
Page 1 of 1
An innovative tooling process has given Ford the flexibility to introduce styling enhancements to the Falcon range in less time and at reduced cost.
The “composite tooling” process, developed by Victorian company, U.P. Tooling, means that Ford can react to market trends and produce short-run bodykits to enhance the look of vehicles in its range.
Ford first used the leading edge technology to produce its “Havoc” and T-Series bodykits for the Series III Falcon range.
The bodykits went from design drawing to full production in just six months, at a fraction of the cost of the traditional steel tooling process.
“The Series III and T3 projects provided a challenge because we were looking at changes that would carry us through to the launch of a new model next year,” said Ford President Geoff Polites.
“It didn’t make financial sense to develop new bodykits using traditional methods, because the time and investment needed couldn’t be justified for such a limited time span.”
“This new method allowed us to achieve a significant appearance change that will carry us through to the new model,” he said.
U.P. Tooling Director of Marketing, Eric Schell, said the company developed the new technology with the help of a special Research and Development Start Grant from the federally-funded AusIndustry Program.
“The Havoc bodykit is a real triumph for us and a direct result of the faith shown in us by AusIndustry and Ford. With their support we have been able to grow our business to the extent that we now have more than 60 people employed in our greenfields site at Braeside”, he said.
Traditional tooling equipment is made of metal and each tool can take months to manufacture. The U.P. Tooling process involves a chemical casting process that produces composite, rather than steel tools, in vastly reduced times.
“This technology is at the leading edge of automotive technology worldwide. We are proud to be able to offer this level of expertise to the local automotive industry,” he said.
The Havoc bodykit is available from all Ford dealers.
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