Ford closure will hit us hard, say MSMEs

Units will lose anywhere between ₹50 lakh and ₹4 cr. a month: owners

Over 50 micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs) from across the State who supply materials and components to Ford gathered in Chennai to present details on how their production would be impacted due to the car maker’s decision to at its plant in Maraimalai Nagar, Chennai.

T.M. Anbarasan, Minister for Rural Industries, was present at the Tamil Nadu Small Industries Development Corporation Ltd (Sidco) office to listen to the woes of the MSME units.

The MSME owners whom The Hindu spoke to said that on an average they would lose anywhere between ₹50 lakh and ₹4 crore a month depending on the volume (the number would vary for each unit depending on the component they supplied). Data provided by heads of various MSME units shows that around 15% of production directly goes to Ford and the remaining 85% is supplied to other companies who add these parts to the components that they make and supply to Ford. S. Nargunam, Managing Director of Excel Die Castings, which is housed inside the Sidco Industrial Estate, Thirumudivakkam, said, “We are the manufacturers of aluminium pressure die castings and have been supplying mirror assembly parts to Ford company as Tier-2 (through tier-1) for the past ten years. Because of Ford’s decision, we will be losing orders to the tune of ₹2.28 crore for the year 2021-22.”