Ford River Rouge and GM Pontiac Stamping

This morning we visited the Ford River Rouge factory, the historic factory where the assembly line for automobiles was started.  The River Rouge factory produces 1,000 F-150 trucks every weekday (600 on the weekends).  They have incorporated many technological advances to improve worker safety and health by using robots and other mechanical devices.  We learned the history of the Fordplant, from the beginning of when Henry Ford founded the company to how they develop cars today.

In the afternoon, we visited the GM Pontiac Stamping Plant.  Here we were able to discuss auto manufacturing issues with the health and safety staff of the facility.  We walked through the plant, seeing how the steel is stamped to create the fenders, roof, and other parts of the cars.