VW opens new Crafter plant in Poland

Volkswagen Group has officially opened its automotive plant in Września dedicated to production of the new Crafter. Is VW claims the plant Europe’s most advanced new factory of its kind.

It was erected in a record time of just 23 months – from spade in the ground in November 2014 until start of production. VW announced the plant on 19 March 2014.

Around 1,000 guests from politics and business as well as representatives from the workforce and unions – from Poland and Germany – were at the opening.

Andreas Renschler, chief executive officer of Volkswagen Truck & Bus and member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG with responsibility for the business area of commercial vehicles, thanked everyone who participated in the construction project for their excellent cooperative work on behalf of the Volkswagen Group.

He noted that this is what made it possible to build this new, significant automotive production site.

Renschler gave special thanks to the employees: “Building the new plant in record time demonstrates the excellent team spirit of all of our employees at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles: clear goals, joint implementation and each individual taking on a high level of responsibility all led to the success of this ambitious project.”

Renschler underscored the importance of the new Crafter and the new plant for the strategic alignment of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles group.

“Our re-development of the new Crafter and our newly constructed plant with an annual capacity of 100,000 units positions us better than ever in the growing market of large vans.” The new factory also signifies a new partnership in automotive manufacturing between Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (Crafter) and MAN (TGE) – two brands within the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles group.

Dr Eckhard Scholz, chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, explained that the brand had confidently mastered a “dual challenge” – namely developing an excellent van while simultaneously building its advanced production site.

“We are proud of the precise and on-schedule implementation of this project, and above all of the people who made it happen. They all made a personal contribution towards attaining this challenging goal. I offer my heartfelt thanks to them. This kind of commitment serves as a model for the future of our brand. Just a few weeks ago, the Crafter was named ‘International Van of the Year 2017’ by a renowned selection committee. This shows that we are on the right path with our vehicle and our factory. Now we need to turn our focus to the future, to the challenging production launch and other upcoming challenges.”

Around 3,000 people are employed at the new plant. Many new jobs were also created in the vicinity of the plant by developing the supplier network and the service provider sector.

The Września production site is by far the largest foreign investment to date in Poland with a cost of €800 million for the construction and production facilities.