Norfolk Assembly was a Ford manufacturing plant that opened on April 20, 1925 [1] on the Elizabeth River, near downtown Norfolk, Virginia, eventually closing in 2007 after manufacturing more than 7.9 million cars and trucks over almost a century of production.[2]
Modeled after the River Rouge Plant, the facility eventually included a power house, water treatment plant, barber shop, safety-shoe store, restaurant, fitness center and TV studio.[3] At the time of its closure, Ford employed more than 2,600 people[1] at the 2,800,000-square-foot (260,000 m2) facility.[1] Ford invested $375 million at the plant in 2002[4] to upgrade it for production of the redesigned eleventh generation 2004 F-150.[1]
Norfolk Assembly produced models including the Model T, Model A and school bus chassis.[6] The last model manufactured at the plant was the F150.
Early history
As early as 1915, Ford Motor Company began planning a large assembly plant in Norfolk, projecting an initial investment of $300,000 ($7.4M in 2017 dollars), estimating an annual assembly of more than 2,000 cars and identifying several suitable sites.[7]
The Mayor of Norfolk, S. Heth Tyler, drove the first Model T off the Norfolk Assembly line on April 20, 1925.[8] At the time, the plant was the largest non-seafaring-related manufacturing enterprise in Norfolk.[8] During its first year, the plant produced 29,519 automobiles.[8]
The plant closed down Model T production in 1927 to gear up for Model A production. On February 21, 1928, the Norfolk FORD Assembly Plant began its production of the Model A Ford.[9]
In 1942, Ford sold the plant to the federal government for $2 million and it became the Naval Landing Force Equipment Depot. Ford repurchased the plant in 1946 for $400,000 less than the company had sold it for in 1942.[10]
Closure
As of 2004, the plant's productivity ranked 17th-best among 45 truck assembly plants,[1] producing a truck in 22 hours, 54 minutes – 83 minutes faster than the national average,[1] operating at 109 percent capacity compared with 94 percent in 2003.[1] As late as December 2005, it had appeared that Norfolk Assembly would not be closing.[4] The plant was represented by United Auto Workers Local 919.[11]
A drawing was held the last week of June 2007, for the last F150 produced at the plant. The truck, a red 2007 F-150 Lariat,[11] was won by Corey Bauswell of Portsmouth, Virginia.[12] The last F-150 left the assembly line just after 7 AM on Thursday, June 28, 2007.[12]
Subsequent history
In March 2011, the assembly plant was sold to Jacoby Development, Inc.[13] for $14.2 million. The development company renamed the facility the Virginia Renaissance Center [14] and planned to demolish all structures on the site except the 662,000-square-foot main assembly building, making way for a mixed-use industrial project.
In 2011, the main assembly building was purchased by Katoen Natie[15] for $10.5 million[16] to be used as a distribution hub for plastic pellets (nurdles) used in the manufacturing of plastic products.[15]
As of 2014, the final parcels of Norfolk Assembly were sold for $4.1 million to The Schaubach Companies.[15] with Katoen Natie retaining an option on the remaining 25 acres of the property. The Shaubach parcels were in turn sold to Bay Disposal, a trash collection and recycling company.