Five millionth Transit rolls off the line

All-British vans could cover the UK 15 times

By PH Staff / Tuesday, 19 July 2005 / Loading comments

Hmm, have I seen one of these somewhere before?

The five-millionth Ford Transit rolled off the Southampton assembly line today. That’s enough vans to cover the entire length of the UK 15 times bumper to bumper.

In a ceremony at the plant, Southampton MP, John Denham, employees and guests applauded as Robin Trowbridge, team leader on the production line, with 32 years service, drove the five-millionth Transit -- a white minibus -- off the line.

To mark this significant occasion, the five-millionth Transit was donated to The Lord's Taverners charity, an organisation that aims to give young people opportunities to participate in sport. The Lord's Taverners's president, ex-cricketer Mike Gatting OBE, was there to receive the keys. An important part of the charity's work is supplying minibuses to special needs organisations across the UK. Last year the Taverners put a Ford minibus on the road for every week of the year.

Ford's UK boss Paul Thomas said: "All of us at Ford are extremely proud of the Transit's unprecedented success both here and around the world. Transit is a very important part of our portfolio – all Ford employees are to be congratulated for their hard work and dedication in producing a world class vehicle."

The Ford Transit is an all-British product: it's assembled in Southampton, its engines are built in Dagenham, Essex and the transmissions are built in Halewood, Merseyside.

At the Southampton plant, one of Ford’s most productive facilities in Europe, 1,441 employees currently build 329 Transits each day, in two shifts. The sequence and the quantity of the various versions are completely flexible, ensuring a fast response to changes in customer demand.

Last year production reached a record level of 70,674 units, and 50 per cent of all vehicles produced were exported to more than 50 countries around the world.