A century ago, Ford Motor Co.'s Highland Park Plant was bustling with assembly workers producing Model T vehicles.
Now, the massive facility may sit idle, but its impact on the automotive industry continues to be felt. It was 100 years ago today that the Highland Park Plant began using the first moving assembly line, ushering in the dawn of the modern automotive industry.
A fascinating story and itâ??s probably the most important contribution that the Ford Motor Co. has given the entire automotive field,â? Bob Kreipke, Ford corporate historian, told MLive during a phone interview Friday. â??Itâ??s obviously quite a milestone celebrating the 100th anniversary but it all took place and kind of culminated on Oct. 7, 1913.â?
On that day, according Kreipke, is when the companyâ??s founder, Henry Ford, combined experimental â??sub-assemblyâ? lines from different facilities into the Highland Park Plant.