Autoblog

Final Ford Ranger to be built mid-month, already sold to Orkin

Noah Joseph — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST

The Ranger pickup has been an integral part of the Ford truck lineup for decades. But later this month, that will cease to be - at least here in the States. That's when the very last Ranger will roll off the assembly line in St. Paul, Minnesota. And what do you know, it's already found a buyer.

The last Ranger has been sold to Orkin, the pest control company that already relies on fleets of white Rangers (and Chevrolet Colorado pickups) with the red diamond logo on the door and all manner of insecticides and other tools of the trade in the back.

"Since 1983, Orkin has used the Ford Ranger as its primary fleet vehicle because it's a reliable and economical truck," Paul Youngpeter, Director of Fleet for Rollins, Inc. (Orkin's parent company) tells Autoblog. "We're honored that Ford has agreed that we will get the last Ranger, and we'll put into our regular service rotation before it's retired to our corporate archives or used for training."

Orkin says they've got enough Rangers to last them for now, and that the company will pick a successor when the time comes. For our part, it seems only fitting to us that a terminated model should be used by exterminators, but one way or another, at least the final Ranger will be put to good use.

Final Ford Ranger to be built mid-month, already sold to Orkin originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Despite meeting with governor, Ford set to close Minnesota Ranger plant

Chris Paukert — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

2010 Ford Ranger - Click above for high-res image gallery

According to The Detroit News, Ford officials met with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty yesterday to discuss the future of the automaker's St. Paul assembly plant. The facility, which builds Ford's Ranger compact pickup has been earmarked for closure for some time, but despite the roundtable session, the Blue Oval says it still plans to shutter its operations.

Pawlenty's administration had been hoping that the signing of a new state law in April allowing the government to offer Ford a series of tax breaks would be enough to keep the Twin Cities operations open, but apparently it wasn't enough - the plant will close, although an end-date remains uncertain.

Closing the plant will also close the book on the aging Ranger, though Ford has confirmed that the model name will live on with other, larger models in foreign markets. Thus far, rumors of a new North American Ranger (and even an on-air slip by Ford president Alan Mulally) have amounted to nothing, and with Ford committed introducing more economical engines to its F-150 full-size pickup, it appears highly unlikely that a U.S. Ranger will receive an encore any time soon.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Report: Despite meeting with governor, Ford set to close Minnesota Ranger plant originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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St. Paul Ford Ranger plant to shut down for December

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

For the entire month of December, Ford's plant in St. Paul, Minnesota, where about 1,000 workers assemble the Ford Ranger, will shut down. According to reports, it is normal for the plant to be closed for the week of Christmas, but an additional three weeks of downtime is necessary to "align production with demand."

The plant had initially been scheduled to be shuttered sometime in 2008, but the recent upwards trend in small pickup sales prompted the Blue Oval to keep it open a bit longer and it currently has no specific date set for closure, though it's demise is currently rumored for sometime in 2011. Perhaps if Ford would actually do something to update its long-in-the-tooth Ranger truck, it wouldn't need to consider its death at all, but that's another story entirely.

[Source: Reuters]

St. Paul Ford Ranger plant to shut down for December originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Could Ford plant closing in Twin Cities strike Olympic gold for Minnesota?

Chris Paukert — Mon, 01 May 2006 13:04:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

If Ford decides to broom the company's Highland Park complex in 2008 as rumored, the Twin Cities want to be ready. Instead of Blue Ovals, local officials are thinking Olympic rings.

The truck plant is being floated as being one of the potential locations that might help entice Minnesotans make a bid for the 2016 or 2020 Olympics. The factory was part of a list pitched to city officials at the St. Paul City Hall.

Despite the earlier bid date being about a decade away, the amount of preparation and wooing needed to court the attentions of the International Olympic Committee is substantial, so the much of the groundwork would need to be laid over the next couple of months.

[Source: City Hall Scoop]

Could Ford plant closing in Twin Cities strike Olympic gold for Minnesota? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 May 2006 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two steps forward for Ford, one step way back for two Ford plants

John Neff — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 07:04:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

Mark Fields revealed last week during his update speech detailing Ford's progress with its "Way Forward Plan" that two Blue Oval plants will be idled in 2008. The two plants affected include the Twin Cities Assembly Plant in St. Paul, MN and the Norfolk Assembly Plant in Virginia.

One word can sum up why these plants were chosen to be idled: inflexibility. Both were built in 1925 around the time dirt was invented. Though the Norfolk plant assembles the F-150, the best selling vehicle in history that's on pace to sell a record 900,000 units for the third year in a row, Ford realized that flexible manufacturing at fewer plant sites could maintain its full-size truck production. The Twin Cities plant, however, was betrayed by its own product - the Ford Ranger and Mazda B-Series small pickups. Ranger sales are down 15.9 in the first quarter and the aged trucks haven't received a major redesign since 1992 (MY1993).

The idling (read: closing) will affect 4,318 hourly and salaried workers. Ford did say that it would reveal its plans surrounding a Ranger replacement closer to the time the Twin Cities plant goes dark in 2008.

Follow the jump for some additional stats and a history of production for each plant.

[Source: Ford]
[Photo: AP Photo/Janet Hostetter]

Continue reading Two steps forward for Ford, one step way back for two Ford plants

Two steps forward for Ford, one step way back for two Ford plants originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 16 Apr 2006 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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