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No two days are the same for Riniza Cadsawan-Arquiza. As a special vehicles engineering (SVE) manager at Ford Thailand, she works with the fleet marketing team and modifiers to transform Ranger, Everest and Transit into everything from ambulances to limousines to local government service vehicles.
“Ranger, Everest, and Transit are so flexible in what you can do with them. It’s exciting working with qualified modifiers to produce specialty vehicles that have an impact on other people’s lives,” she says.
In recent years, Riniza and her team have played a key role in expanding Ford’s SVE footprint in the ASEAN market and bringing more qualified vehicle modifiers on board to produce a range of modified Rangers and Everests for different purposes. This includes launching the 2021 Ranger Street Racing Special Edition in Thailand, supporting Ranger mobile service vehicle conversion for dealers and helping the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand with their ambulance fleet.
Riniza grew up in the small town of Sampaloc, Quezon, and joined Ford Philippines in 1998 as a technician trainee working at its Santa Rosa assembly plant.
“It wasn’t just a job for me, it was a life-changing opportunity,” she says. “I’ve been able to earn my engineering degree thanks to Ford.”
Riniza spent the early part of her 26-year career with Ford honing her skills in material planning and logistics in the Philippines, before relocating to Thailand in 2013. Fast forward a few years and Riniza jumped at the chance to join SVE.
“I thought my extensive experience in planning would be a great addition to program management,” she says. “I feel good knowing the importance of SVE work – whether it is helping communities through converted vehicles or just creating something cool like helping convert a Transit into a luxury van or limousine.”
Outside of work, Riniza is an avid runner – a sport and bond she shares with her husband, Ryan and her daughter, Rhiane. She started running in 2010 and has been pounding the pavement ever since. Weekends are now incomplete, she says, without a run or two.
Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Riniza ran her first marathon, the Bangsaen 42 Chonburi marathon, in November 2020. Since then, she has been running half-marathons and recently ran a personal best in the Pattaya Marathon. Her aim, she says, is to run the 50km race at The North Face 100 Ultra Trail Challenge Thailand before she turns 50.
“Preparing for a marathon takes a lot of planning and discipline,” she says. “Training starts couple months ahead with a combination of runs and CrossFit® sessions a week.
“Running gives me space to be with my thoughts. It has taught me to be patient with my own progress, to have the discipline to be consistent and committed to what I’m doing, and to be more aware of my limits and how I can push myself beyond them.”
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