Over 90,000 vehicles were built by the Porsche factory in Leipzig in 2011 – an increase of 47% over the previous year
■Three-shift operation has started successfully to meet high demand■Factory is expanding further ahead of beginning to build the new ‘Cajun’
The Porsche factory in Leipzig is celebrating its best year in its history. From January to December 2011, 93,838 new Porsche vehicles rolled off the production line in the German state of Saxony; 62,004 examples of the all-wheel drive Cayenne and 31,834 of the four door Panamera Gran Turismo.
“We were able to increase production in Leipzig by 47 per cent compared with the year before and are showing an increase also in 2012, following the record performance in 2011,” explained Wolfgang Leimgruber, Member of the Executive Board Production and Logistics of Porsche AG. In addition, more than 2,400 customers collected their Porsche personally in Leipzig last year and took advantage of the opportunity to try out the facility’s own circuit and challenging off-road course.
“Porsche Leipzig is a success story that began in 2002 with the inauguration of the factory on a greenfield site, with new chapters being added continuously ever since. 900 employees are now busy putting top quality Panameras and Cayennes on the road. To meet the high demand, we are introducing a third shift from the end of January 2012,” added Leimgruber. With the new production sequence, a total of 500 vehicles will roll off the production line.
“The coming year starts with the task of converting the team to the three-shift operation and adapting our lean logistics system and other business areas to the increased output. The factory is also gearing up for a new model line,” said Siegfried Bülow, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche Leipzig GmbH. “We are expanding the factory to handle production of the ‘Cajun’. The outlook is for growth in Leipzig.”
Porsche is investing more than 500 million Euro in developing its Saxony location, which will become a fully fledged factory with its own paint shop and body assembly by 2013. An additional 1,000 jobs are being created at Leipzig for the ‘Cajun’ project. Recruiting and training new personnel is an important item on the 2012 agenda.
“We are continuing to put a lot of effort into searching for the best skilled workers in the region, Germany and internationally,” Bülow added. This is an emerging trend as many residents of Saxony who in recent years had moved away to work, train and study are returning home. “We are looking in particular for new colleagues in the quality, body assembly and logistics fields. Next year will be busy and exciting and there is cause for celebration.”
In 2012, Porsche Leipzig celebrates ten years of production and will be staging numerous events on the works premises and in the town.
