The Ford Motor Company of Canada has taken down the for sale sign on some of its industrial properties in Windsor.
In September 2021, the company listed the Windsor Engine Plant and the nearby powerhouse property, a 50 to 60 acre site.
According to a statement provided by the automaker to AM800 News, "Ford regularly reviews its global portfolio to ensure our campuses and facilities enable our business objectives. As the result of a recent review, the Windsor Engine Plant site and neighbouring powerhouse are no longer for sale. There are no plans to reactivate the site at this time. The adjacent waterfront parcel was not part of the properties considered for sale," says Gabrielle Poshadlo, Ford Land spokesperson.
Ford owns around 20 acres of land along Riverside Drive at the foot of Drouillard Road.
John D'Agnolo, President of Unifor Local 200, says he hopes it means the Ford family is going to bring more investment here in the future.
"We would certainly talk to them about that, we always have. Whenever there's an opportunity for us to bring any type of program to our community, we will sit down with the company and do what we can to make sure we're successful, and the Ford Company to be successful also," he says.
Unifor's three-year collective agreements with Ford, Stellantis and General Motors expire Sept. 18 and D'Agnolo says they will ask about an investment at the site during upcoming contract negotiations.
He says he's always hopeful there's an opportunity for the plant with new programs coming out and the $5-billion NextStar EV battery plant coming to Windsor.
"Ford is doing a ton of investment in the new BEV {Battery Electric Vehicle} programs, I'm hoping we can be part of that also. As you know, we build the combustion engine, the future is the BEV and I'm hoping we can have a combination of both," adds D'Agnolo.
Ford ended production at the Windsor Engine plant in 2018 and the 1.3-million-square-foot facility at 1000 Henry Ford Centre Dr. has been empty since then, while the nearby Windsor Foundry property was demolished after it was closed in 2007.
The other part of the Windsor Engine plant property, the Annex plant on Seminole Street, was not part of the sale. The plant produces the 6.8-litre and the 7.3-litre engine.
The Essex Engine Plant off Lauzon Parkway was also never part of the sale.