Wixom Assembly Plant

The Ford Wixom Assembly Plant, now known as the Ford Renewable Energy Park, is a former Ford Motor Company automobile assembly plant in Wixom, Michigan, United States.

Wixom Assembly plant

Ford years

The Wixom assembly plant was one of Ford's largest and oldest manufacturing sites. It opened April 15, 1957, and was ultimately expanded to encompass 4.7 million square feet. Over the plant's 50 years of operation it produced 6,648,806 automobiles. The last car produced was a white chocolate Lincoln Town Car which rolled off the line at 12:55pm on May 31, 2007.

During its long history, the plant was mainly used for the manufacture of Lincolns and the Ford Thunderbird. The Lincoln Town Car and the Ford GT were also produced there. Production of the Lincoln LS ended in early April 2006 and production of the Ford GT stopped on September 21, leaving the Town Car as the plant's final product.

Wixom was the most profitable plant in the industry during the 1980s when Cadillac downsized its lineup and lost ground to Lincoln. Due to Lincoln's falling sales, Ford announced on January 23, 2006 that the Wixom plant would be idled in 2007 as part of The Way Forward. Some analyists argued that the plant might not be closed. A report in The Oakland Press stated, "The fate of the Wixom plant, however, will depend on the shape of Ford's future product plan, which seems to be currently in flux." Michigan governor, Jennifer Granholm, reportedly offered $115 million in tax cuts to keep the plant open. The plant was nonetheless idled in 2007, and by mid-June 2008, while Ford was able to find buyers for other idled plants, Wixom remained unsold.

Products:

• 1958–2002 Lincoln Continental
• 1958–2005 Ford Thunderbird
• 1980–1983 Lincoln Mark VI
• 1981–2007 Lincoln Town Car
• 1984–1992 Lincoln Mark VII
• 1993–1998 Lincoln Mark VIII
• 2000–2006 Lincoln LS
• 2005–2006 Ford GT

Energy Park

It was announced in August 2009 that the former Ford Wixom plant would be converted to a green energy production plant with an initial investment of $725 million. The potential investment is expected to exceed $1 billion if the project develops. Two separate companies, Xtreme Power and Clairvoyant Energy will redevelop the factory and hire a combined 4,000-plus employees. The two companies plan on occupying half of the factory, with the goal that the other half will be occupied by other alternative energy companies. When the project is completed it will be the largest renewable energy park in the United States.

As of August, 2010 all parties, Xtreme Power, Clairvoyant Energy, Ford and the State of Michigan, are still on board with the Energy Park plan. The energy companies are waiting for the federal government to approve interim loan guarantees to begin construction. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm said, "There's been a great effort to partner with the federal government on investment, but that application process is often very cumbersome," and added "So streamlining that, I think, has got to be the next step for the federal government in continuous improvement." Currently, Ford is working to dismantle the inside of the former automobile factory in preparation for the energy park.

Shooting

On November 14, 1996 the Wixom assembly plant was the site of a deadly shooting. A lone gunman, who was not a Ford employee but had dated an employee at the Wixom plant, randomly shot and killed a manager of the factory. According to police, the shooter hid from authorities for several hours by remaining in a series of drain tunnels outside of the plant. Several Ford employees and two Oakland County sheriff deputies were also shot and wounded by the gunman.

See also

• List of Ford factories

References

• "Wixom plant might be shut down". The Oakland Press. http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/012206/loc_2006012201.shtml. Retrieved January 22, 2006. 
• "Ford's plans to slash production include Wixom". The Oakland Press. http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/081906/loc_2006081942.shtml. Retrieved August 19, 2006.