Heavy duty: Ford in South America innovates its way to company-leading results.Contrary to its U.S. parent company, which has been piling on bad results of late and living a walking nightmare of layoffs and lost market share, Ford in South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. has reason to celebrate. Profits hit US$389 million in 2005, well over the $140 million figure posted the year before. The region went from being Ford's worst performer in the world to the best in five years and expects to grow even more. "The heat they are feeling in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. we had here five or six years ago, when we closed factories and worked to reposition the brand," says Antonio Maciel Neto, in one his last interviews while president of Ford South America. At the company since 1999, Maciel left his job at press time for the presidency of Brazilian paper and pulp giant Suzano Papel e Celulose. Ford's new president in the region is Barry Engle, reporting to Dominic DiMarco, the new executive director of the company for Canada and South America. Ford took big steps forward on Maciel's watch. "In the last two years, we focused every month on improving results in the auto industry here in South America, despite having market share of between 12% and 13% in the region," says Maciel, sitting in his office in Sao Bernardo do Campo São Ber·nar·do do Cam·po A city of southeast Brazil, an industrial suburb of São Paulo. Population: 740,000. Noun 1. Sao Bernardo do Campo - a city in southeastern Brazil; an industrial suburb of Sao Paulo , near Silo silo, watertight and airtight structure for making and storing silage. Silos vary in form from a covered pit, such as was used by the early Romans, to the modern storage tower, dating from the 19th cent. Paulo. To post the current, healthy numbers, the company had to undertake a long, hard turnaround process. "What we focused on was making the company the size for the competitive conditions we faced," he says. Coming up with new products was fundamental to the process. One of the innovations was to quadruple the product development team in South America to 800 engineers. "Our strategy was global technology plus local innovation, making changes and local adaptations," says Maciel. Such was the case with the Ford Fiesta The Ford Fiesta is a mid-class supermini car designed and built by the Ford Motor Company in Europe, and also manufactured in Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, China, India and South Africa. , which got a reinforced suspension to handle rough road conditions in Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. . One of the results of rebuilding engineering locally was the EcoSport, a sport utility vehicle designed completely in Brazil and an absolute sales success. "Over time, our brand had aged. We were rejected, just for not having something attractive for young people to buy," says Maciel, who believes the EcoSport is a symbol of the company's recovery. Despite being Brazil's largest carmaker, Ford grew in other countries in South America as well. The company faced a crisis in Argentina and now has had success with the Focus and Ranger models there. In Chile, the job was done through the dealers; Ford there controls 5.5% of the market. Venezuela also stands out, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Maciel. "We started as a car company and turned into a truck maker. We went from 13% of the market to 17% in cars, and we have 40% of the truck market," he says. At $811 million in sales in 2005, the truck segment is a big part of Ford's turnaround story, now at a quarter of the company's sales in South America. The company closed the year producing 26,648 trucks across the region, 11% more than in 2004, including the assembly unit in Venezuela. "From 2003 on, total truck production in the region grew by 60% in the region. Ford in Argentina led the market, with more than 30% of the market, and in Chile we have 18% of truck sales," says Flavio Padovan, operations director for Ford Trucks South America, based in the factory in Sao Bernardo do Campo. Tradition. Proportionally, the Andean Region Andean region may refer to:
Konrad Sul, a dealership in Sapucaia do Sul Sapucaia do Sul is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Sapucaida do Sul is a commercial city, and some industries have been there since the 1960s. The city is crossed by BR-116, one of the most important roads in Brazil. in the metro area This article is about the music production team. For the article about population centers, see metropolitan area. Metro Area are a Brooklyn-based dance music production team composed of Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani. of Porto Alegre Porto Alegre Port and city(pop., 2005 est.: city, 1,386,900; metro. area, 3,978,263), southern Brazil. Located along the Guaíba River near the Atlantic Ocean coast, it was founded c. 1742 by immigrants from the Azores. It was first known as Porto dos Casais. , sells 250 trucks a year. With 3,000 square meters of sales area and 80 employees, the company is one of the standout Ford dealers in Brazil. Post-sale service is cited as the reason why the dealership has succeeded, says owner Anderson Toso. "We have 24-hour assistance, help at any hour, trained professionals and a competitive price," Toso says. "That's what makes a customer loyal to a brand." CARLOS ADESE * SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, BRAZIL |
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