Parts Paralysis: Ford Closes Belgium Plant For A Week
The Japanese parts paralysis claims a new victim. Allegedly. Ford will close its plant in Genk, Belgium, for five days starting April 4. The idea is to conserve auto parts in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami, Ford said in a statement emailed to the media. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Belgium plant was scheduled to be idled for five days in May to keep the production of cars in line with demand. Ford moved up the closure “to ensure we have parts availability going forward given the current situation in Japan,” Ford spokesman John Stoll said.
The 5,500 worker plant east of Brussels produces the Ford Mondeo, the S-Max compact minivan, and the Galaxy full-size minivan which seem to be suffering more from a lack of customers than from a lack of parts.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Has anyone here been behind the wheel of a Mondeo? They're all over the place in England, and supposedly the newest model is a pretty good driver.