Fleets face delays to Ford parts after asbestos discovered

A Ford parts factory has been forced to close after asbestos was discovered, disrupting the supply of genuine parts to workshops across the UK and Ireland.

Chrysotile, also known as white asbestos, has been found in some small pieces of cement at the Ford UK Parts Distribution Centre in Daventry, Northamptonshire.

As a result, the manufacturer has suspended operations while external specialists conduct thorough cleaning. 

In a letter to customers, including fleets, independent repairers and franchised dealers, supplied by its PartsPlus depots, Ford warned that they were likely to face longer lead times for parts due to now having to be dispatched from other distribution centres in Europe.

The letter, from Stuart Harper, sales director at Ford's PartsPlus operation, seen by colleagues on AM, said that an on-site survey was completed last week which discovered the white asbestos in the picking and putaway operations at the distribution centre.

White asbestos was banned in 1999. All forms of asbestos fibres are classed as hazardous by the UK Government as they can cause cancer following inhalation exposure. 

Harper wrote: “All PartsPlus stock replenishment orders have been suspended and ‘immobilised vehicle off-road’ orders are being re-routed to Cologne and Valencia.

“This means that parts which can be supplied from those locations will be shipped to the UK and Ireland, although this will result in extended lead times in customers receiving the parts.

“In parallel, the teams are working with the highest priority to restore operations and utilise capacity that is available in Cologne and Valencia facilities.”

Ford did not say when the Daventry facility, which provides a parts delivery service to Ford dealerships and its network of PartsPlus trade parts sellers, would be back up and running.

It also did not disclose how much longer parts may take to be delivered, but one industry source told AM he had been quoted up to two weeks for some parts which were typically delivered within days.

In a statement, Ford said: “Specialist cleaning is already well underway and we are working closely with external experts to establish a timeline for resuming normal operations.

“Our priority is providing a safe working environment. We are working hard across our European sites to minimise any delays for dealers and customers.”