Thames Freeport - Britain's Trading Future

[ 30 ] Ford’s Dagenham site was acquired in 1928 and has been in continuous production since 1931. Throughout that time Dagenham has had to adapt to economic, industrial, legislative and technological changes. Today’s challenge is the ultimate demise of the internal combustion engine, driven by the electrification of the entire auto industry. As a result, Dagenham must reimagine its activities on the site, and this is where a Thames Freeport can act as a powerful enabler, delivering new investments at pace. The Ford Dagenham site is synonymous with manufacturing and Ford will work to position the site to attract new internationally mobile projects within the company, leveraging the tax benefits provided by the Freeports policy. But a strategic multi-modal site such as Dagenham is able to disrupt itself in order to create future opportunities. Transformational plans include: • Piloting future mobility projects and solutions with the local Dagenham Dock commercial zone, including the adjacent City Markets, and the Ports • Achieving Ford’s sustainability commitments through investments in solar, wind and battery storage to help meet the company’s commitment for a carbon- neutral site by 2035. This includes collaboration with London Borough of Barking and Dagenham on sustainability best practices and support for local projects • Increasing infrastructure utilisation with the possibility of third-party use of the railhead, and support for City Markets through consolidated shipments upriver from the Ford jetty • Supporting Ford’s commercial vehicle upfitting strategy, bringing specialist vehicle conversions partners onsite, thus creating more job opportunities locally • Supporting the Skills Fund to drive up skills qualifications in London’s most deprived borough, improving local employment prospects F O R D Thames Freeport is great news for what is one of the most deprived areas in the UK and it is important that Ford Dagenham is part of it. The port will be a new centre of excellence for the UK and provides Ford with a great opportunity as a test bed for a variety of customer-focused mobility technologies and other business opportunities at Ford Dagenham in the future. Testing ventilators at Ford Thames Freeport can act as a powerful enabler, delivering new investments at pace