After World War II, Ford began a diversification project, dispersing work away from the Rouge to newer assembly and supplier plants. Though the company did invest in new equipment in the 1960s and 1970s, plus did a renovation project in the early '70s, some might claim the changes were window dressing. Aluminum siding was slapped on the exterior of Dearborn Assembly and other facilities and a few trees were planted, but arguably, parts of the facility were becoming obsolete.
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| In 1999 Bill Ford Jr., chairman of Ford and great-grandson of Henry Ford, announced the company was launching a $2 billion renovation of the Rouge to create a manufacturing center for the 21st century. (Photo: Ford Motor Company) |
By the late 1980s to early 1990s, it looked like the rear-wheel drive Mustang would be phased out for a front-wheel drive car based on a Mazda model being produced in Flat Rock, Mich. That front-wheel drive car became the Probe, but the Mustang continued thanks to cooperation between UAW Local 600 and the company, plus a determined group of engineers who remade the pony car at a historically low cost (by Ford standards).
Ford spun off its steel operations to create Rouge Steel and sold off its ore ships, yet still there were questions on how long the automaker would continue operations at the Rouge. Then followed signs of new investments in the late '90s when Ford built a new paint shop for Dearborn Assembly and announced plans for a modern, natural-gas power plant to replace its 1920s coal-fired plant.
Tragedy struck with a boiler explosion in 1999 that destroyed the coal powerhouse, just months after ground had been broken for the new power plant. That year, though, Bill Ford Jr., chairman of Ford and great-grandson of Henry Ford, announced the company was launching a $2 billion renovation of the Rouge to create a manufacturing center for the 21st century and put a shine on what used to be Ford Motor's manufacturing crown jewel.
Ford Seeks Innovations at the New Truck Plant
The Dearborn Truck Plant is the culmination of Bill Ford's vision for a new Rouge Center. It was constructed on land once occupied by one of the Rouge's railroad sidings--in the days of lean production and just-in-time deliveries by trucks, railroad freight traffic had declined considerably at the factory complex.