23/02/2024

Press line relocated from Brazil to Thailand

On the four-stage line at the new location, Ford has been producing body parts for the Asian and Australian markets since October.

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Halfway around the world: A press line that Schuler relocated from Brazil to Thailand for car manufacturer Ford has completed this journey. The four-stage line with a total press force of 6,100 metric tons was completely dismantled at the Camaçari site on the Atlantic coast, shipped and finally reassembled at the Rayong plant in Thailand within four months. There, the high-speed tandem line now forms body parts for Ford models on the Asian and Australian markets.

The line consists of a 2,500-ton head press, a 1,600-ton follow-up press and two further follow-up presses, each with a press force of 1,000 tons. The scope of delivery also included adapting the entire electrical system to the power supply at the new location and replacing it, if necessary, as well as modernizing the conveyor system.

"Ford placed this order with us not least because of the decades of trustful cooperation with Schuler all over the world," says Seksan Saekoo, who manages the Schuler site in Chonburi, Thailand. "We have already successfully completed countless projects with Ford, and in this case, too, we managed to fully meet both the technical and financial conditions."

The press line was manufactured and installed by Prensas Schuler Brazil (PSB) in 2011 and made approximately 18 million strokes at the Camaçari plant in the Northeast of the country. “This was the largest Service Project in our history,” says Fábio Fernandes, Business Unit Manager at the PSB Service. “There was an excellent cooperation between Schuler Brazil and Schuler Thailand, which resulted in virtually no delays and a happy customer.”

Dismantling began in October 2022 after Schuler had received the order in May, and the components arrived in Thailand three months later. On-site installation started in April 2023, when the construction site was prepared, and was completed in August. Acceptance followed in October, and the tandem line has been in production at the Rayong plant ever since.

Ford’s wholly-owned and joint-venture operations in Thailand currently employ around 9,000 people. The company’s growth and success in Thailand is being driven by the Ranger pickup truck and the mid-size Everest SUV. Total production capacity of Ford Thailand Manufacturing (FTM) facility in Rayong is 135,000 units per year.