Opel Lays Foundation Stone for New Szentgotthárd Engine Plant

SZENTGOTTHÁRD, Hungary - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and GM Europe President Nick Reilly laid the foundation stone for a new Opel/Vauxhall engine plant in Szentgotthárd in southwest Hungary. Starting production in late 2012, the plant will have a production capacity of 500,000 engines per year. With an investment of 500 million Euros Opel/Vauxhall creates 800 jobs in a manufacturing operation with unprecedented flexibility.

The new engine plant is located at an existing site that will be considerably expanded.
The manufacturing program will consist of a family of small gasoline engines, a family of medium sized gasoline engines and a family of medium-sized diesel engines. The new engine range will fulfill future Euro 6 emission standards, add direct injection to gasoline powertrain, secure a low power/weight ratio, provide smooth running and substantially reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

The new facility will be able to rapidly accommodate production schedule changes that might be required due to spikes in customer demand. The plant will be significantly more flexible than existing plants and is therefore a true “flex plant”. The rapid tool changes that are a prerequisite of the plant’s flexibility require a highly skilled workforce. The high education level of the Hungarian workforce was also an important factor in the site selection process preceding Opel/Vauxhall’s decision to invest in Hungary.

For the construction of the new manufacturing site in Szentgotthárd, Opel/Vauxhall currently employs 300 Hungarian suppliers.