Ford Motor Co. (F – Analyst Report) has announced plans to invest $150 million in its 63-year old Buffalo Stamping Plant. The company will also create 350 new positions at the plant.
Ford will add 25 new subassemblies, including hoods, doors and fenders, at the Buffalo plant. It will also boost the plant’s capacity by adding a third shift to its press room. Further, the automaker will add a new blanketing line and upgrade some equipment to support future product programs.
Ford manufactures doors, quarter panels, hoods, fenders and other stamped parts for the Ford F-250, F-350, Flex, Edge, Focus and Econoline, as well as the Lincoln MKX and MKT at the Buffalo plant. The company wants to boost the efficiency of the plant through this investment.
Further, Ford will increase the employee base of the plant to 1,000 from 650 at present. The increase will comprise new workers, transferred employees and people joining back after temporary leave.
These job additions will contribute to Ford’s goal of creating 12,000 hourly jobs in the United States by 2015. The automaker has already achieved over three-fourth of this target. The company also has a target of hiring 2,200 salaried workers in the U.S. this year.
Additionally, Ford plans to invest $16 billion in its U.S. product development and manufacturing operations. This includes $6.2 billion for plant-specific investments.
Ford currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other major automobile stocks worth considering are Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC – Analyst Report), General Motors Company (GM – Analyst Report) and Daimler AG (DDAIF). While Daimler is a Zacks Rank #1 stock, Honda and General Motors carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
