Innovative vehicle concepts can be realized much quicker
Rüsselsheim. Opel is laying the foundations for the automotive design of the future with further investments in Rüsselsheim. On Thursday, Opel Group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, Vice President Design Mark Adams, Design Operations Director Richard Bolz and Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug, Head of the Opel Works Council, opened a new high-speed milling center, where the design models and concept cars of the future will be produced. Opel has invested a total of euro five million in the ultra-modern milling machines and the modernization of the buildings.
“Outstanding design is part of Opel’s brand essence. We are investing in latest technologies to keep it that way. It will give us the opportunity to realize our creative ideas even quicker, more precise and more focused,” said Dr. Neumann. “I am delighted that the Milling Center is now open. The new machines will guarantee outstanding quality when milling our design model and secure employment at our Rüsselsheim site. The investment is further proof of Opel’s comeback to success,” added Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug, Head of the Opel Works Council.
High-speed milling is a technological innovation that reduces the development time of vehicles considerably. Design models can be produced in various scales in a relatively short space of time, allowing the proportions and design elements to have their full impact. The computerized, five-axis milling machine operate at up to 60 meters per minute and can create the most complex shapes in prime quality and of the highest precision. The machines can be operated with various materials such as aluminum, Plexiglas and plastics with different degrees of hardness.
The visitors of the opening ceremony received an insight into the numerous possibilities that the new high-tech centers opens: The Monza concept car, presented at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, was impressively set in scene in the middle of the new high-speed milling machine.
The Opel Design Center in Rüsselsheim can look back on a unique history spanning more than fifty years. As the first of its kind in the European automotive industry, it attracted car designers from all over the world.
The new Milling Center is a further step in Opel’s large-scale product offensive with 27 new models and 17 new engines being brought to market between 2014 and 2018. The next highlight will be the new Astra that will celebrate its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
