The Biggest Factory in the World

The Volkswagen Wolfsburg plant has the honour of being the biggest factory in the world, occupying an expansive area of 5 sq. km. With its state-of-the-art facilities, is also boasts the first paint shop to use water-based, eco-friendly paints.

The plant is Volkswagen group's headquarters in northern Germany. It has a massive output capability, producing 815,000 vehicles in 2015 alone, with each car built to customers' individual preferences, from a selection of millions of possible design variants.

The facilities at Wolfsburg include the press shop, which is a massive operation in itself that produces 1,500 tonnes of sheet metal daily. Each section of sheet metal must be cut and pre-stamped into special plates, before being fully galvanised.

Next in the production process is the body shop, where Volkswagen has invested in innovative, flexible technology to ensure the plant can react quickly to the factory's different demands. This means that different models can be built one after another on the same production line, without the need for major modifications that would cause delays.

After the body shop comes the paint shop, where flawless results can be achieved. First, an intensive pre-treatment process is carried out, with all folds, seams and joints sealed. Then, the cars go through the next process to have the sealants, colours and protective layers added.

Next, it's on to the assembly line, where the engine and other features are combined using precise configuration techniques. Stringent measurements, performance tests and final adjustments are then completed, so that Volkswagen can ensure the finished product is of the highest quality that customers have come to expect.

The plant at Wolfsburg is so renowned that it's open to the public daily from Tuesday to Friday for guided tours that last a full two hours. The factory is so massive that employees use bicycles to get about more quickly!

The construction of the Wolfsburg plant was commissioned in 1937 and it opened in 1938, having been modelled on the Ford factory in Michigan, USA. However, after the outbreak of World War II, the production of passenger cars was temporarily halted, and armaments were manufactured there instead.

On 5th August 1955, the company celebrated the one millionth Volkswagen coming off the production line. In the 1960s, the massive factory employed many immigrants to help with production. In fact, on 17th January 1962, a train carrying 100 Italian workers arrived.

The influx of Italian production workers gathered pace and by the end of the year, there were around 3,500 immigrants working at Volkswagen, with Wolfsburg earning the nickname of the "biggest Italian town north of the Alps" as a result.

There were so many new workers coming in that Volkswagen founded its own real estate company on 20th December 1962 to build housing for its employees, with the company investing 40 million German marks to construct new apartments.

Volkswagen's relationship with the UK began in 1952, when the first two Volkswagen Beetles were sold. One year later, Volkswagen Motors Ltd became the UK's official importer and the brand went from strength to strength.

Solent Plastics stocks a wide range of products that are suitable for factory and assembly work, such as our order picking bins and open fronted containers. We supply a diverse range of industries with quality plastic solutions, combining fast quotes with bulk discounts and great service. Please contact us for further assistance.