The two trainees Justin Sahinkaya and Jesse Klein as well as Opel student Phillip Franjkovic were just volunteering to help the visitors in, now they are pushing their way further forward through the crowd and stretching their heads. “Can you see something?”, “Is he there yet?” “He” – that means Olaf Scholz. The Chancellor is at the official ceremony at the Opel headquarters in the Adam Opel Haus to congratulate the Rüsselsheim-based company, which has been building cars for 125 years.
The three young talents are accompanied by numerous invited guests of honor and 600 employees who have secured one of the coveted places at the company headquarters. When Olaf Scholz enters the stage a little later, he addresses the employees directly: “Generations of employees have made Opel the great brand it is today: an automobile company on the way to electromobility. “That is exemplary,” said the Chancellor, adding: “You have achieved something great!”
“Generations of employees have made Opel the great brand it is today.”
– Chancellor Olaf Scholz –
Clear course: Olaf Scholz praises the path to electrification that the company has taken. “125 years of automobile manufacturing in Rüsselsheim – that is a great and impressive history,” said the head of government.
Official opening (from left): Prime Minister Boris Rhein, Chairman of the Supervisory Board Xavier Chéreau, Opel CEO Florian Huettl, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares and Stellantis Chairman John Elkann.
“Today is a big day for Opel”: Opel CEO Florian Huettl welcomes the guests to the official ceremony.
Looking forward to the Chancellor: Justin Sahinkaya, Phillip Franjkovic and Jesse Klein (from left) have signed up to volunteer.
Family affair: Gregor von Opel, great-grandson of company founder Adam Opel, is on site with his wife Julia.
Big applause, proud faces
Opel CEO Florian Huettl underlines the commitment to electromobility in his speech with concrete facts: “We will be the first German brand to offer a battery-electric variant for every model in our portfolio this year,” he says. “With 125 years of experience in automobile manufacturing, we and our employees are taking the path of electrification with conviction.” Big applause, proud faces. Carlos Tavares, head of Opel parent company Stellantis, points out that Opel has experienced “a fantastic journey” over the past seven years. In 2023 alone, the company grew more strongly than it has in two decades, with sales increasing by 15 percent, said Tavares.
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125 YEARS OF AUTOMOTIVE BUILDING “Best of” video of the anniversary celebration
Gregor von Opel is among the numerous invited guests. “It’s a great day for all of us,” said the great-grandson of the company’s founder Adam Opel on the sidelines of the ceremony. “I am pleased that the company is once again so successful with excellent models and is consistently pursuing the path towards electromobility.” His father Dr. It was Georg von Opel who converted a GT into an electric car in 1971 to demonstrate the future potential of this alternative drive. The legacy of this pioneering achievement stands prominently in the Adam Opel House today: the Grandland Electric and the Frontera Electric, which celebrated their world premiere a few weeks ago, are being presented to a large audience for the first time today.
“I’m sure: the Chancellor would have liked to drive a little further in the Astra.”
– Factory employee Buket Bilen –
Tour: Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares (left) and Florian Huettl (right) accompany the Chancellor through the Rüsselsheim factory.
Whether for combustion, hybrid or electric vehicles: plant manager Pieter Ruts shows how flexible production is in Rüsselsheim.
Mastered confidently: The Chancellor mounts a high-voltage cable to the battery on the underbody assembly line.
Line process: Together with his colleague Buket Bilen, Olaf Scholz drives up in the fully electric Astra.
Open and approachable: The politician always seeks to talk to his factory colleagues on site.
But the Chancellor didn’t just come to Rüsselsheim to take part in the official ceremony. He devotes a lot of time to the subsequent visit to the Rüsselsheim factory. Over a hundred colleagues from production, maintenance, logistics and the quality department are ready to present the production of the Astra model at the headquarters. “We produce flexibly,” says plant manager Pieter Ruts as he leads the prominent visitor onto the assembly line. Here the underbody of the compact class bestseller is prepared – depending on requirements – for the combustion engine, hybrid or electric variant. Olaf Scholz doesn’t take long to ask and connects a high-voltage cable to the battery. “Feels good to have done something with your hands,” he jokes with the journalists watching the scene.
With the Chancellor in the Astra
During the tour of the factory, a colleague gets particularly close to the Chancellor. Buket Bilen sits in the passenger seat as Olaf Scholz drives an Astra Electric Sports Tourer off the assembly line. “I briefly explained to him how to start the Astra at the push of a button, and then it started,” says the factory employee. In general, the atmosphere was very relaxed: “Mr Scholz was totally likeable and open. He clearly enjoyed driving the electric Astra. I’m sure he would have liked to drive a little further.”
Commitment to the Rüsselsheim location
The future new global Opel headquarters and Stellantis Germany headquarters will be built in the immediate vicinity of the current production plant. The groundbreaking is scheduled to take place this year. The urban company headquarters will make a decisive contribution to reducing the carbon footprint of the Rüsselsheim location. The entire electricity requirement of the partially green building is covered by a photovoltaic system on the roof, 7,000 panels enable climate-neutral operation, and heat pumps provide air conditioning. A contemporary and motivating working environment with bright office areas with lots of daylight and high-quality materials is created for the employees from administration, design, research & development and sales.
The new company headquarters is intended to make a decisive contribution to reducing the carbon footprint of the Rüsselsheim location.
Buket Bilen is also present at the subsequent so-called citizen dialogue, in which the Chancellor exchanges ideas with 21 employees and trainees at the plant. The round of discussions, which takes place behind closed doors, covers, among other things, the electrification offensive, the expansion of the charging infrastructure, but also personal concerns. Even when the Chancellor received a signal that it was time to leave, he stayed: “Mr. Scholz was very interested and took a lot of time to answer our questions,” said Buket Bilen.
Fascination with automobile manufacturing
And how did the three volunteers in the Adam Opel House like the ceremony with the Chancellor? Of course, the Chancellor’s visit was the icing on the cake. “But beyond that, it is something very special to be part of such an event,” says Opel student Phillip Franjkovic. As soon as their assignment is over, they want to explore the remaining highlights of the “Open Day” around the headquarters and immerse themselves deeply in the fascination of “125 years of automobile manufacturing” with a visit to the Opel Design Center and the pop-up exhibition .
Developed, designed and built in Rüsselsheim: This fully electric Astra rolls off the production line at the Opel headquarters in the presence of Olaf Scholz.
At the citizen dialogue, the Chancellor exchanges ideas with employees. The round of discussions will take place behind closed doors.
Proud team: The production employees gather around the head of government for a group photo.
Would like more? The recording of the ceremony in the Adam Opel Haus with all speakers can be viewed here.
June 2024
Photos: Opel/Andreas Liebschner, Thorsten Weigl