A dot matrix sign scrolls over the head of Jimmy Rooney, protector of quality in the press shop at the Halewood car plant on Merseyside.
"25 days to X400 job 1", say the cryptic words in red and yellow dots, spelling out a message which is vital to the prosperity of the region, the British motor industry and the Ford Motor Company.
The message reminds 3,000 staff that next month the first baby Jaguar will roll off the production line and into the showrooms.
The workers who used to make the Escort, Europe's family workhorse, have moved into the luxury car business: Ford now owns Jaguar and Halewood will produce 100,000 Jaguars a year, or 10% of this lucrative sector of the market.
Behind the move is the thinking that more drivers are opting for a luxury car at what they believe to be affordable prices. That the innovation should occur at Halewood is just as revolutionary.
Halewood used to be a place where unions and management were often locked in ritualistic trials of strength. Now managers have admitted past mistakes and sought to unlock the potential of their car builders. About £300m has been poured into changing cultures and creating a factory fit for sleek little movers costing around £23,000; the Ford oval is out, the leaping Jaguar is in.
"I feel so proud to be part of Jaguar, to be building a quality vehicle," said Mr Rooney, who now wears a Jaguar T-shirt after 27 years as a Ford man. "I have already had an opportunity to drive the new X400 - 10 years ago that would have been an impossible dream."
Mr Rooney used to be a pool worker, shunted round the plant to plug gaps, unable to progress because advancement was based on seniority, not ability. Eighteen months ago he realised the significance of the Jaguar project and took the chance to spend nine months on the Jaguar line in Coventry, where the S type is being built. Eventually, 500 workers were to spend time in Coventry, learning the Jaguar way of car production.
In 1997 Halewood looked as if it would close after the announcement of the imminent end of the Escort. But the unions dug in their heels and the plant was a given the multi-activity vehicle (MAV), a people carrier version of the Focus.
Then, having examined and rejected greenfield sites and its own plants around the world, Ford decided that same year to build the new Jaguar at Halewood and embarked on the most concentrated car development plan in the company's history. Exit MAV, enter X400. The new Labour government chipped in £43m.
"We needed a quantum leap in quality and productivity," said David Perry, who moved to Merseyside to head the Ford-to-Jaguar transition team. "We also needed a major investment in infrastructure to put right the neglect of recent years and we needed to change dramatically the culture within the plant."
Negotiations with unions on changes in working practices were complete by November 1998 and recorded in the Halewood Charter, which every employee was asked to sign: 90% did. "We were delighted with that," said Mr Perry. "It covered things like smoking at work, eating in the cars, mobility of labour, promotion based on ability, and the management's right to manage in the interests of the business."
In came American consultants specialising in the culture of working relationships. Quality standards were cranked up and those who bought an Escort in the final months before the line stopped for good on July 21 last year found themselves with one of the finest popular cars ever produced in Europe.
In August, 800 workers spent 10 days at Merseyside further education colleges, brushing up on literacy, numeracy and information technology, and then took part in community projects. "They went down there with a bit of trepidation but threw themselves into learning," said Mr Perry. "IT caught their imagination. Some had never switched on a computer before. After 10 days, it was incredible to see the interest and enthusiasm."
With the launch just around the corner, pre-production X400 four door saloons are coming off the line for quality tests; the people who build them are attending quality seminars in which they examine in detail rival small Audis and BMWs. "We set out to change a culture in two years," added Mr Perry. "That is almost unprecedented. All the indicators suggest we have made dramatic progress. The jury is out on the sustainability of that. The whole culture change programme is captured by the word respect - respect upwards, downwards and sideways."
Tony Woodley, the TGWU's chief negotiator for the car industry, welcomes that respect and the investment that Jaguar has made in people and the environment in which they work. "There has been a dramatic change of culture among the management on how people are treated. That makes for a very efficient and productive plant. People are working bloody hard and producing the goods. I am absolutely delighted."
