24.9. . 2002
Opel celebrates "Ten Years Opel plant in Eisenach"

On September 23, 1992, Opel Eisenach GmbH, a subsidiary of Adam Opel AG, opened their newly erected plant in the German State of Thuringia and started Astra production.

Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Opel was one of the first western companies to invest to a considerable extent in the former GDR. Only two days after re-unification, on October 5, 1990, the first Vectra left the plant where the GDR's Wartburg automobiles had previously been assembled. The new Opel plant in Eisenach opened in 1992 after a construction period of only 19 months and has been an outstanding example of lean production processes and has served as a model for new Opel production facilities.

With an initial investment of over one billion Mark (500 million Euro), Adam Opel AG laid the foundation for a new beginning in automobile manufacturing in the region. The Opel plant alone opened up 2000 new jobs in the region, another 3000 were created by the supplier industry.

Until today, the company invested 1,5 billion Euro into the optimization and advancement of the production processes. The result is a continuously high quality level and, simultaneously, a high level of flexibility in production: In Eisenach, three different body-styles can be manufactured on one line.
So far, approximately 1,4 million vehicles were produced by Opel in Eisenach. 50 percent of the vehicles made-in-Eisenach, currently Corsa and Astra, are sold in Germany.

The company introduced in Eisenach the lean "Opel production system" based on five principles: engagement of employees, continuous improvement, quality assurance right from the beginning, standardization and short lead time through improved logistics. The Opel production system became a model for many other production facilities within the General Motor network worldwide like the plants in Rosario (Argentina), Shanghai (China), Rayon (Thailand), Gliwice (Poland) and only recently the new production plant in Rüsselsheim (Germany).