Reorganization Gives Bedford Increase A S a result of major
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reorganization— which has gathered all light van body production and final assembly operations under one roof—Bedford light Nan production has been increased by 20 per cent. Floor space available for van body building, body metal-finishing. chassii assembly and final assembly has gone up by 45 per cent. to 119,000 sq. ft. Night shift work on the assembly line has been eliminated. Chassis assembly and final assembly are carried out on the ground floor; van body production on the first floor, and paint and trim operations on the top floor.
Van painting and trimming operations are done on the same line as the cabs for Bedford trucks. Connection is maintained between the various floors by freight lifts.
Building and finishing now take place on two separate power-operated conveyors 350 ft. and 370 ft. long respe.,..lively, The building line holds 20 bathe,. and the metal-finish line, 24, More space and additional equipment —including conveyors—has been provided for chassis frame welding and for the chassis assembly operations.
More than 132,000 Bedford light vans have been built since the first exampl: of the present model was introduced in 1952. It is expected that output in 1959 will exceed 35.000 units.