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Post by kingofalldans on Sept 13, 2010 17:15:23 GMT -5
Heard today in class that on Thursday ford will announce something big concerning Kansas and LAP. Same guy said a Ford big wig will be @ Kansas City to make announcement.
Anyone else catch wind of this?
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Post by fuckugettelfinger on Sept 14, 2010 7:54:59 GMT -5
Yeah, Allen Mulally is coming to the plant on Wednesday or Thursday. Not sure what this is for. But, rumor is he is supposed to make a "formal" announcement on KCAP's product.
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Post by dcassity on Sept 14, 2010 17:26:07 GMT -5
Mulally is giving a speech to the Kansas city business association on the 16th, word is he will not visit the plant. The CEO of Hallmark who sits on the board of Directors of Ford will visit the plant tomorrow or Wed. and most likely report to Allen Mulally , both will attend the meeting on the 16th. Speculation that Mulally will give some detail as to Kcap's future are high. If he does not the rumor mill will be on overtime.  |
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Post by marcus on Sept 14, 2010 19:14:16 GMT -5
Well he ant coming to LAP is he.
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Post by dcassity on Sept 15, 2010 18:01:51 GMT -5
Kansas city newspaper reports no announcement from Mulally while visiting Kansas city area about Kcap future.
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Post by ScottR@KTP on Sept 15, 2010 18:17:48 GMT -5
Keeping you in the dark...sounds about right.
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Post by kingpin on Sept 16, 2010 14:39:19 GMT -5
:oWas there any "Major Announcement" Today at KCaP or LAP?
Inquiring Minds want to know!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2010 14:44:25 GMT -5
:oWas there any "Major Announcement" Today at KCaP or LAP? Inquiring Minds want to know! Was told that we (LAP) are using more toilet paper on one shift then we did with two shifts. |
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Post by TonyV on Sept 16, 2010 14:55:14 GMT -5
Ford CEO, in KC today, could offer clues to automaker's future
By RANDOLPH HEASTER
The Kansas City Star
Ford Motor Co. chief Alan Mulally is scheduled to speak at two events in Kansas City today, possibly detailing his vision for the automaker’s future.
But don’t expect him to disclose specifics of what most Kansas Citians want to know: What’s the future of the Ford Claycomo plant?
Indications are Mulally will stay mum when it comes to the long-term plans for the Kansas City Assembly Plant, which produces two popular vehicles: the Ford Escape SUV and the F-150 pickup. However, Escape production is expected to end in the fall of 2011 and move to a factory in Louisville, Ky., according to Ford union officers and local economic development officials.
That has led to concerns about the Claycomo plant’s prospects. It has about 3,900 employees and is Kansas City’s biggest manufacturing facility.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was worried enough that he called a special legislative session this summer to ensure that the General Assembly would provide tax incentives for Ford if it made new investments in the factory.
Ford has not officially confirmed the Escape’s move, and it appears unlikely that Mulally, Ford’s president and CEO, will clarify matters today.
“No product announcements are planned,” said Karen Hampton, a Ford spokeswoman.
Jeff Wright, president of United Auto Workers Local 249 at Claycomo, said the union has been told the same thing.
While workers at the Ford plant had hoped that Mulally today would announce a vehicle to replace the Escape, Wright said he remains “cautiously optimistic” that eventually will happen.
“I respect the process Ford has to go through in determining which products will go where,” he said. “I’m sure with our great work force, they’ll ultimately bring another product here.”
Ford appears to still be in flux about future production decisions. With Louisville expecting to get production of the smaller, next-generation Escape, Bloomberg News reported last week that Ford had scrapped plans to shift production of a new SUV, the Kuga, to Louisville from Germany. The Kuga is said to be a small SUV similar in size to the new Escape.
According to analysts, Ford had planned to build Kugas in Louisville for export to Europe.
Ford declined to comment on details to the Detroit Free Press, saying only that a new vehicle is slated to start production in Louisville next year.
If accurate, Ford’s decision to keep Kuga production in Germany does not help the Claycomo plant’s prospects, said Alan Baum of Baum & Associates, a West Bloomfield, Mich., consulting firm.
Baum said that if the Louisville plant doesn’t make Kugas, it will be able to make more Escapes. The Claycomo plant could have been a backup plant for Escape production if demand remained strong for Escapes in the United States and for Kugas in Europe.
“Without building Kugas, the Louisville plant has capacity for 70,000 to 80,000 more Escapes annually,” he said. “Right now, it looks like Kansas City is relying on Louisville maxing out its production capacity, which will be harder to do if they don’t make Kugas there.”
Nevertheless, Baum and other analysts don’t believe it likely that Ford would mothball half of the Claycomo plant. The plant has a separate assembly line producing F-150s, although it’s now operating only one shift. The Escape is on a three-shift schedule.
Despite all the cutbacks since 2006, Ford still has too much North American production capacity, said Michelle Hill, vice president of Oliver Wyman, which publishes a closely followed auto-plant productivity study called the Harbour Report.
“Through the years, Kansas City has been a really good Ford plant in terms of productivity,” Hill said. “There’s also been a lot of progress in terms of union relations there as well. So it would be surprising if they didn’t get a new vehicle.”
Many of the tough decisions Ford has made since 2006 have come under Mulally’s watch. A Kansas native, Mulally joined the automaker that year as a Detroit outsider. He arrived from Boeing, where he turned around the important commercial airplanes division.
Mulally seems to be doing the same for Ford, which has posted five straight quarterly profits and is grabbing sales from competitors. Several new vehicles launched by Ford have been well received by the auto-buying public, including new versions of the Taurus, Focus and Fusion passenger cars.
Analysts and business leaders have heralded Ford for being the one Detroit automaker to avoid bankruptcy and federal help. But Ford is holding much more debt than its domestic competitors.
Mulally will appear today at a luncheon hosted by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce at the Westin Crown Center hotel. He then will speak in the early afternoon at the Hyatt Regency hotel, where the Missouri Department of Economic Development is holding a conference.
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