The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-06-03
LARGEST PLANT IN WORL ] |S FORD'S AT HIGHLAND PARK
Sixty Thousand Men are Now Employed At This lm-
 menSe Plant

Covering a total of nearly 500 acres, of which 123 are under roof, the Highland Park plant of the Ford Motor company is the largest indi- vidual motor plant in the world.
 Here the Ford car is built. the castings being received from the River Rouge plant and bodies. from the various Ford body building plants.
 The unit of Highland Park includes the main offices the Highland Park power plant the Detroit sales branch, the boys industrial school and the manufacturing unit.
 Under the latter head are included the motor assembly. car assembly, motor test, top and upholstery de- partments, stock rooms, drop forge plant, glass factory and others.
 Today these plants present the scene of the greatest activity in the history of the Ford Motor company as every energy Is being directed to reaching the 5000 cars a day schedule set by the manufacturing department
 The manufacture of 6,000 separate Ford units daily presents staggering production figures and calls for the highest degree of accuracy in each manufacturing operation. It means that in the motor assembly depart ment 5000 motor blocks are handled, 24.000 connecting rods, 48,000 valves and necessary mechanical materials, the installation of IS,000 main motor bearings with other production fig ures in the same ratio and to uni formly high standard of quality.
 Each of these parts Is subjected to exacting balance and micrometer tests and as production at the High land Park plant increases 1t Is neces- Aarily accompanied with an increase i, it kt-h oh t,, dividual part is made in order that the various assembly operations may progress smoothly and without in terruption.
 Production at the plant has not been increased by more work but by increasing man power to the ut most of the mechanical equipment capacity and at the present time 60,O00 men are employed at the plant. working ill eight-h shifts six days a week on q 24-hour day basis
 In the huge drop forge plant, whero 5000 front axles, 5000 crank shafts and other drop forge parts are made, there has been added equipment and greater man power is being used to produce the necessary parts and at the same time there has been an in creased quality marking every phase of Ford construction.
 To guard against the possibility of outside manufacture falling in this huge production schedule, the glass plant and the fabric plant and other allied plants at the Highland Park group are all working on 24-hour schedule.
 In the glass factory there is never ending flow of molten glass from the furnace mouth at which it is rolled out and slipped along in 465foot ribbon to the cutting. and where 1t is cut Into length and sent to the polishing machines.
 In the plant the work on top ma terial goes on unceasinly and tops and upholstery are cut and sewed by hand into proper parts
 Ford motors undergo the most ex- acting tests No human agency is permitted to pass upon the final fit ness of the individual motor Each is operated in test by electricity and under the supervision of an expert, while in a room separate and apart from this, the delicate electrical dynamometer records the test to the utmost fineness, and it is upon the verdict of this instrument that each motor receives the final stamp of ap- proval.
 From all departments the various finished parts emerge upon endless conveyers and are carried to the as- sembly lines and the movement Is so synchronized that each unit arrives at the proper point in exact ratio to the manufacturing need.
 These parts are assembled by ex- pert work each performing his specific operation as the motors are carried along on a constantly nov ing conveyor until they come out completed at the end and in the same manner the motors come to final as- sembly line where cars and trucks are completed. There they are mount ed on the chassis and started so that experts may pass upon the ignition action and other mechanical opera tions as they are conveyed along the line to be turned out complete and leave the final station under their own power.
 Though 1922 set up a production record of 1851 .533, the present year. under the schedule now on. will in crease this by several hundred thou sand and indications are that the pro- duction for the year will pass the million and one-half mark in cars and fr1lcES