The Ford Southampton plant was a motor vehicle assembly plant, located in Swaythling on the north eastern outskirts of Southampton, England. It was the western European home to the production of the Ford Transit van. The last vehicle was produced on 26 July 2013, ending Ford's 100 plus year vehicle assembly history in the UK.
The plant, located on a 44-acre (180,000 m2) site near to Southampton Airport, was built as a shadow factory to assemble aircraft components for engineering firm Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft, opened by the Mayor of Southampton on 2 February 1939. At the outbreak of World War II, its whole supply chain was switched to produce parts for the Supermarine Spitfire. Recognised as an important part of the British war effort, it was bombed on a number of occasions by the Nazi Luftwaffe, the first in September 1940. In the latter years of the war, the site was used to assemble the Spitfire.
In early 2011, Ford of Europe confirmed that Southampton would continue to make the short and medium wheelbase, and Tourneo minibus versions of the Transit until the end of 2011. Production of these units was then consolidated to Turkey in 2012, while Southampton was to continue as the European centre for the chassis-cab variant of Transit, with production ramped up to 35,000 units a year.
On 26 October 2012 Ford announced that, as part of a larger cutback of their European production capacity, the Southampton factory would close altogether in July 2013, with production for Europe of all the new Transit models shifted to Ford Otosan in Kocaeli. The last Transit went into production on 15 July 2013 and rolled of the production line on 26 July. Workers who have not either accepted redundancy or early retirement, are being redeployed to either:
New £12M distribution centre at Southampton Docks
A new vehicle refurbishment plant at the existing site, employing 134 staff
Ford's other UK factories manufacturing engines at Bridgend or Dagenham.
I have heard that the area of the site you see in my pictures will be demolished by next Christmas and is slowing being decommissioned and the other half of the site is currently being converted ready to start refurbishing Transits. Apparently during the week the site is still home to a few hundred people!
Thank You For Looking!
The plant, located on a 44-acre (180,000 m2) site near to Southampton Airport, was built as a shadow factory to assemble aircraft components for engineering firm Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft, opened by the Mayor of Southampton on 2 February 1939. At the outbreak of World War II, its whole supply chain was switched to produce parts for the Supermarine Spitfire. Recognised as an important part of the British war effort, it was bombed on a number of occasions by the Nazi Luftwaffe, the first in September 1940. In the latter years of the war, the site was used to assemble the Spitfire.
In early 2011, Ford of Europe confirmed that Southampton would continue to make the short and medium wheelbase, and Tourneo minibus versions of the Transit until the end of 2011. Production of these units was then consolidated to Turkey in 2012, while Southampton was to continue as the European centre for the chassis-cab variant of Transit, with production ramped up to 35,000 units a year.
On 26 October 2012 Ford announced that, as part of a larger cutback of their European production capacity, the Southampton factory would close altogether in July 2013, with production for Europe of all the new Transit models shifted to Ford Otosan in Kocaeli. The last Transit went into production on 15 July 2013 and rolled of the production line on 26 July. Workers who have not either accepted redundancy or early retirement, are being redeployed to either:
New £12M distribution centre at Southampton Docks
A new vehicle refurbishment plant at the existing site, employing 134 staff
Ford's other UK factories manufacturing engines at Bridgend or Dagenham.
I have heard that the area of the site you see in my pictures will be demolished by next Christmas and is slowing being decommissioned and the other half of the site is currently being converted ready to start refurbishing Transits. Apparently during the week the site is still home to a few hundred people!
Thank You For Looking!
