The major update of one of the world's most significant industrial icons will serve as a template for Ford's attempt to balance advanced, flexible manufacturing practices with environmental sensitivity. Proposed supplier park. UAW Family Learning Center. High-tech training facility. Introduction of several environmental programs.
Possible visitors center and tour program.
The project will preserve 3,000 jobs at the complex, many of which will be filled by new workers as older employees retire in the next few years. Originally spanning more than 1,100 acres, the Ford Rouge Center was the largest industrial complex in the world when it began producing the Model A in 1927. Fish and plant life in the neighboring Rouge River largely disappeared. Air quality suffered. The new plant will greatly reduce the number of workstations used to assemble the vehicle as well as the storage area for parts and vehicles.