October 23,1911 – A spot of English T

The Ford Motor Company began intercontinental production on this day in 1911 when the first Model Ts left a factory in Trafford Park, Manchester, England, the first Ford assembly plant outside of North America. Three years after production started here, Britain’s first moving assembly line was installed at the plant, allowing the factory to pump out more than 20 vehicles per hour.

An expansion of the plant after World War I significantly increased production. By the beginning of the 1920s 41 percent of all registered cars in Britain were Fords. To further improve production numbers a plant with better access to a deep water port was ordered by Henry Ford. This new manufacturing building was completed on the River Thames in Dagenham in 1923. Ford still operates a production facility in Dagenham, as well plants in Bridgend and Halewood.

Cover: Interior of Ford’s Trafford Park plant