Opel Eisenach
Opel Eisenach GmbH is a German manufacturing company based at Eisenach in Thuringia, Germany and a subsidiary of Opel. It currently produces the Opel Grandland.
History
In March 1990 Adam Opel AG and Automobilwerk Eisenach (AWE) concluded a collaboration agreement. By 5 October 1990, AWE and Opel opened an assembly line for the Opel Vectra. Guests at the celebrations included Helmut Kohl, who two days earlier had become the first Chancellor of the newly reunified Germany.Another agreement was signed on 13 December 1990, this time between Treuhand president Detlev Rohwedder, Opel Chairman Louis R. Hughes and AWE directors, for the purchase of land in the Gries business park, to the west of the Wartburgstadt, where a new car assembly plant was to be built. A foundation stone for the new plant was laid on 7 February 1991 and, once the roof was on the building, a "topping out" ceremony was held on 9 September 1991. The existing (AWE) plant was closed and production of the Wartburg 1.3 ended.
Production of Opel Corsa and Opel Astra models started on September, 23rd 1992 at the Eisenach Opel plant. Employing just 1,900 people at the time, the facility was described as the most successful and productive car factory in Europe.
The introduction of a third shift on 4 October 1993 marked the end of the plant's start-up phase. By 16 October 1996 Eisenach had notched up production of half a million Opels, and the millionth car came off the line on 16 November 1999.
The bankruptcy of General Motors, the factory's ultimate parent company, raised doubts about Opel's ownership and indeed its survival for several months in 2009. The uncertainty also affected the Eisenach facility where production was halted at times.