Equipped with brown plumage, a huge roller turns behind the glass pane. The emu feathers gently stroke the body. “Every Grandland that rolls off the assembly line here gets this kind of tender loving care,” says Ralf Möller, who works in the paint shop at the Eisenach plant, to the visitors. What are emu springs doing in the midst of a highly automated process in one of the most modern car factories in Europe? “Sometimes nature is unbeatable,” says Ralf Möller, “the feathers remove even the finest dust, and they also have an antistatic effect.” The treatment takes place before the base coat, i.e. the actual color, is applied.
Not only size, high-tech and logistics: It is these beautiful details that create the fascination of production. And there will be plenty of that at the “Open Day” in mid-September. 3,000 visitors took the opportunity to visit the Eisenach plant. The reason: Opel models have been manufactured for 30 years in the factory at the foot of the Wartburg, where Martin Luther translated the Bible into German exactly 500 years ago.
Reason to celebrate: 3,000 visitors took the opportunity and flocked to the “Open Day” on the factory premises. The motto was “Family and Friends”.
Keynote speaker: “Opel was one of the first West German car manufacturers to get involved in the new federal states after reunification – with great success,” said Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow during the ceremony.
Numerous guests of honor: Bernd Loesche, Chairman of the Works Council (from left), Ralph Wangemann, Opel Labor Director, Plant Manager Jörg Escher, Opel CEO Florian Huettl, Thuringia’s Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee, Mayor of Eisenach Katja Wolf, Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow and Reinhard Krebs attended the official ceremony , district administrator of the Wartburg district.
“Here bestsellers are produced in first-class, proverbial Eisenach quality.”
– Opel CEO Florian Huettl –
The day begins with a ceremony in the morning. Not only 30 guests are invited, 30 employees also hear the speeches. For the Prime Minister of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow, the plant in Eisenach embodies the fact “that Thuringia has a future with tradition”. For Opel boss Florian Huettl, it is, among other things, an important building block on the way to a completely electric brand. And Eisenach’s Mayor Katja Wolf reminds the plant, which opened in 1992, of the long-standing “automotive soul” of the city.
For Jennifer Reinhold – we will meet her later during the tour of the plant – the plant is “a piece of family”. She herself works in the paint shop, while her mother Steffi Spiegler assembles door modules in final assembly and her father Roy Spiegler supervises the welding processes in the body shop. Many Eisenach families carry the automotive gene, the city is one of the most important centers of the German car industry – Opel entered the family book 30 years ago.
A look behind the scenes: visitors were able to visit three production areas – paint shop, body shop, and final assembly.
Rare opportunity: Experiencing the production lines up close is only possible on special occasions.
One butterfly, please! The children’s program made the day an experience for the whole family.
Animal aids: Ralf Möller presented emu feathers – they have an antistatic effect and are indispensable during the painting process.
Small, but Tatütata: The plant fire brigade showed their technical equipment. The fiery red Rocks-e unique was in great demand.
After reunification, the car manufacturer from Rüsselsheim was one of the first West German car manufacturers to get involved in the new federal states. And with the new plant and the corresponding investment volume of over one billion marks, he laid the foundation for the revitalization of automobile manufacture in the traditional region. To date, 3.7 million vehicles have rolled off the assembly line at the Eisenach plant – first the Astra, then the Corsa and Adam, and today the Grandland. The top SUV is the first electrified model to be manufactured in Eisenach. And you can test drive it today.
Screen up, screen closed – the weather is mixed. But the line for the test drives is growing, as is the line for the Thuringian sausages. Only the fiery red Opel Rocks-e from the plant fire brigade fleet is more popular than an SUV and a sausage. The fully electric City-Mobil can be driven from the age of 15 with a moped driver’s license. Children climb into the driver’s seat every minute. The next generation – they already share a fascination for the region’s automotive heritage.
Family ties: Steffi Spiegler (left) assembles door modules, her husband Roy Spiegler (right) is the welding supervisor in the body shop. Daughter Jennifer Reinhold (centre), here with son Louis, works in the paint shop.
We were there! Hundreds of visitors immortalized themselves with colorful pens on a body of the Grandland. After a layer of clear varnish, the unique piece is kept as a reminder of the milestone birthday.
The fascination of manufacturing: the visitors took the opportunity to obtain first-hand information. With the Grandland plug-in hybrid, an electrified model rolls off the assembly line for the first time.
“Big things” are coming up at the site: extensively modernized in recent years, the employees at the Eisenach plant produce the Grandland. Visitors could test drive the current Opel top SUV – alongside the Opel Mokka and the Opel Astra.
“The Eisenach plant is part of the family.”
-Jennifer Reinhold-
Sep 2022
Photos: Alexander Bonn