Montevideo, Nov 23 (EFE) .- The plant that will manufacture Ford Transit in Uruguay for the entire region, which represents the return of the American brand to the South American country 35 years later, was inaugurated this Tuesday in Montevideo.
In an event that was attended by the President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, and several members of the Executive, Ford and Nordex, the local company in charge of producing vehicles for, among others, Peugeot or KIA, made the launch of the new plant that has involved a joint investment of 50 million dollars.
According to the Argentine businessman Manuel Antelo, the main shareholder of the assembly plant, the production capacity, which will have suppliers from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, will be 8,000 annual vehicles of the Ford Transit model, which will be released “for all the region”.
“It is a very important milestone, because it is the return of Ford Motors to Uruguay, one of the largest companies in the world, which was in Uruguay 35 years ago and with this demonstrates the renewed interest that there is today in investing in Uruguay,” said Antelo , who added that the South American country is “on the radar of large companies” as an “attractive place to invest, settle down and be here.”
Nordex currently has 550 employees, which, according to the employer, will be double “at the end of next year.” “These are young people trained to work in the automotive industry, who have a lot of enthusiasm and desire for progress,” he said.
During the address of the authorities, the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Omar Paganini, said that for the Uruguayan Executive “today is a day of joy”, since the country “is gaining momentum after the pandemic.”
“Today we are above 2019 and at our production level, employment has been recovering, which has been the pandemic for our country – we all live it and we all know it – we are coming out with a lot of push,” he said.
Later, all the guests, led by Daniel Justo, president of Ford for South America, toured the new plant, which has “modern facilities and equipment that favor well-being and sustainability” with measures such as “natural lighting and thermo-acoustic treatment. “, according to the company.
According to information provided by the Dearborn (Michigan, United States) -based company, Transit is “the leading sales vehicle in the United States and Europe and plays a key role in Ford’s global and regional business strategy.”
