Green is a favourite colour at Ford’s Maraimalai plant near Chennai, where the Figo is being produced. The plant has almost 50 acres of green cover that includes well-tended lawns and a green belt. This is just one aspect of Ford’s commitment to the environment and the community.

Across the plant, Ford has also put in place initiatives to reduce energy consumption and emissions. “The biggest user of energy and fuel in a manufacturing plant is the paint shop,” says Tom Chackalackal, vice president, Manufacturing, Ford India.

Ford’s revamped paint shop incorporates the three-wet high solids process, which has reduced carbon dioxide emission by 15 percent and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emission by 20 percent. We call this the next-generation environment-friendly technology.

In addition, the paint shop uses energy-efficient ovens and equipment. “By introducing this new technology, we’re cutting energy use and fuel consumption significantly, and that’s good for the environment and the community,” adds Chackalackal.

Ford has also installed a zero-discharge wastewater treatment facility for the plant complex. As a result, all the wastewater is treated and reused – saving plenty of water.

The company’s environmentally-aware practices do not end here. Manufacturing units often dump their solid waste in landfills, creating hazards for the environment. Ford has completely eliminated the need for landfills by building a zero solid waste facility. All the solid waste that is generated at the plant is recycled or co-processed in the cement industry.

Finally, Ford has also improved internal processes to reduce consumption of important resources. Here’s a tiny indicator: in the past three years, we have reduced water consumption by 30 percent per car, and electricity consumption by 10 percent per car.

What do you think of these green initiatives? How do you live a green life? Tell us!

- By the Ford Figo Team

Liked what the new Ford Endeavour looks like? We did too. The car’s good looks are thanks to the distinctive embossed chrome grille, wraparound headlamps and new tail lamps, the wide header bar, and, of course, its glossy colour and paint quality.

The new Endeavour is the first car to be painted using our pioneering painting technology– the three-wet high solids system. At Ford, we take pride in our high-tech colour selection and painting process. Here’s a peek at what goes into painting a Ford car.

Painting cars – Then and Now
Earlier, our designers had to rely on paint chips or a car door to see how a colour would look. Now, with computer-generated models, the designers map a colour on any vehicle, and view it from a variety of angles and lighting conditions to make sure it’s right. Thus designers can experiment, and we get better colours for our cars. BTW, the colours also need a nod from our dealer network and customers.

The three-wet high solids system was used to paint the new Endeavour. This paint system was pioneered at the Avon Lake plant for trucks in the US a couple years ago. Ford is the only automaker to use the three-wet high solids system in India. “We’re excited to launch this breakthrough technology in India,” says Kalyan Murugan, project manager for Ford India’s paint shop.

Why we Love it (and you will too)
Our team is excited about this because it will be used for the Figo as well. The technology gives us and car owners a range of innumerable benefits. For us, it’s great because:
• It has reduced our energy consumption, is eco-friendly, cost-efficient solution that produces beautifully painted vehicles with long-term durability
• It has more than doubled our Chennai plant’s hourly vehicle capacity (from 15 to 34 vehicles per hour)
• The system produces less carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions and reduces volatile organic compounds emissions by 20 percent, important considerations for Ford and the community

The paint shop team loves it because it makes things simpler and faster for them. Cars are painted in three wet coats without baking between coats, so there are no primer ovens and no primer preparation booth.
It’s good for the car owner because it gives his car a superior finish with high gloss and depth of colour, greater durability and better resistance against scratches and stone chips.

“It’s not very often that we can deliver quality, cost and environmental objectives with a single paint technology,” Mr Murugan explains.

Robots get to work
The most exciting bit is that (hold your breath here!) robots apply the paint. It’s a sight straight out of a sci-fi movie. Specialized robotic paint units apply the coats quickly, efficiently and evenly. The paint booth uses 16 such robots — eight for the base coat application and four each for the primer and clear coat.
There is also a new robotic underbody sealer application process, which uses three robots to apply the sealer (a quicker, higher quality approach for vehicle durability). After the finishes are applied, each vehicle passes through one of two new baking ovens.

The new formulation we use contains more paint solids, which means that the car paint promises longer-term resistance and better durability to scratches than other paints (water-borne paint and medium-solids solvent-borne paint).

The result — a fabulous Ford car that you can show off. So watch out for the Figo’s high-quality appearance, glossy finish, and more.

– By the Ford Figo team