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Ford to Re-Open Cleveland Engine No. 1

Ford is reopening the plant, to produce its critically acclaimed Ecoboost engine... the powerplant Ford says uses gasoline turbocharged direct-injection technology to deliver 20 percent better fuel economy, with 15 percent fewer CO2 emissions.

What all the tech talk translates to is; less money going in the gas tank; with more power underfoot when you mash the gas pedal.

To Cleveland though, it's a source of jobs for years to come. Jan Allman is the long-time plant manager who couldn't stop raving about the engine - and the opportunity to build it here.

JAN ALLMAN: "it's a cornerstone technology that we're going to be delivering; so that tells us the future is at Cleveland."

500 people lost jobs when the plant closed. Now some will return. Other jobs will go to workers shifted from operations already on the Brook Park campus.

Ford praised its' unions for what it called a 'progressive agreement' that allowed the re-hiring and re-training, which is already underway.

ALLMAN: We have spent over 200 training hours to upskill our work force. It's a real detailed training class."

Ford hopes to have 500 thousand EcoBoost-powered vehicles on the road by 2013. The first of them will come from Brook Park for this summer's rollout of the 2010 model Lincoln MKS and MKT, with the Ford Taurus SHO and Ford Flex not far behind.

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Rick Jackson is a senior host and producer at Ideastream Public Media. He hosts the "Sound of Ideas" on WKSU and "NewsDepth" on WVIZ.