P7784

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Details

ID Number

P7784

Item Name

image

Title

Construction workers at Considine-Reid Ltd. building - Ford Power Plant dock / Ouvriers de construction au bâtiment Considine-Reid Ltd. – Le quai de la centrale électrique Ford

Title (Fre)

Ouvriers de construction au bâtiment Considine-Reid Ltd. – Le quai de la centrale électrique Ford

Date

ca 1923

Description

Photo of three unidentified construction workers or contractors standing in front of the Considine-Reid Contractors buildings adjacent to the Ford Power House dock construction site, Riverside Dr. E.; various pieces of mechanical and construction equipment are seen in the background.

History

The Ford Motor Company was established in Canada in 1904 when a group of Windsor businessmen began negotiations with a struggling Detroit inventor named Henry Ford. Ford's first plant was located in the former plant of the Walkerville Wagon Works, which overlooked the Detroit River. Location was key as the cars were assembled one by one as parts were ferried by wagonload across the river. The first car built in Canada was the Model C. 1904 - 1905, the first year of operations, the company employed 16 men and turned out 114 automobiles. Ford extended capacity in 1910 by building a three-storey automobile plant on Sandwich St., close to the company's first building. In 1911 a reinforced building of four floors was erected containing 60,000 feet of floor space. Many parts factories sprang up to supply the demands, which grew out of the automobile industry. In 1913, assembly line techniques and moving conveyors were introduced and by 1914 the company was producing 14,500 units per year. In 1915, Ford introduced the "Four Dollar a Day" plan over a six-day, eight-hour workweek. The municipality of Ford City grew around the Ford plant. Ford City became a village in 1913, a town in 1915 and became the City of East Windsor on June 1, 1929. Expansion of the Ford Motor Company continued during the 1920s and was a major factor of the city's development. By the summer of 1928, the company employed 8000 men and an output of 500 cars per day was predicted for 1929. When war was declared in 1939, all resources and facilities of Ford of Canada were committed to serving the war effort. The Windsor plant was retooled for the construction of war vehicles and produced 8000 Universal Carriers, a half-auto, half-tank vehicle, in just over two years. By April of 1945, Ford of Canada had supplied the armed forces with 380,000 motor vehicles valued at more than $650,000,000. In 1954, Ford of Canada's Head Office was relocated to Oakville, Ontario in order to be closer to the major population centres of the nation. Today, Ford of Canada assembles cars and trucks at two plants in Oakville and one near St. Thomas. It produces engines, aluminum engine parts and iron castings at five plants in Windsor. The Company's cast aluminum research and development facility is also located in Windsor. Its operations employ approximately 17,000 people across Canada.

Place made

Canada - Ontario - Windsor

Collection Name

Museum Windsor

Subjects

Automobile industry / Industrie de l'automobile

Building materials / Matériaux de construction

Commercial facilities / Locaux commerciaux

Considine-Reid Ltd. / La compagnie Considine-Reid limitée

Construction industry / Industrie du bâtiment

Contractors / Entrepreneurs

East Windsor (Ont.) / Windsor Est (Ont.)

Employees / Employés

Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd. / Ford du Canada ltée

Machinery / Machinerie

Piers & wharves / Appontements et quais

Power plants / Centrales électriques

Riverside Dr. E. / Promenade Riverside Est