It was an incredible six decades this 8th March since the very first VW Transporter came off the production line at its new dedicated plant in Hanover – and Volkswagen is planning a special exhibition to mark the occasion.
The retrospective to be held at the Historical Museum of Hanover will look at the early production of the legendary Bullis, as the VW bus was endearing called, and it runs from March 9 to 26 June 2016. And judging by what we’ve been told we reckon it’s going to be quite an event with lots of early buses, video reports by eye witnesses who worked at the factory in the fifties and various other photographs and exhibits that help outline the plant’s history. And it’s not just a static exhibition – there’s all manner of interactive stuff going on too. On three work days per week, VW apprentices will show off their skills and demonstrate the very latest production processes.
Production of the VW bus began in 1950 in Wolfsburg. When the 100,000 Bulli came off the assembly line in 1954 (below), it was obvious the Transporter needed its own dedicated plant. At that time, being built alongside the Beetle, the Wolfsburg plant was building 80 Transporters per day, while rocketing worldwide demand meant that 330 were needed.
VW legend Heinrich Nordhoff chose Hanover and construction of the new factory began in mid-February 1955 in the middle of an ice cold, snowy winter. At the same time recruits in Hanover were learning how to build the bus, catching the 4:10am train from the main station to Wolfsburg for instruction. A year later, the first Bulli had left the Lower Saxony factory.
Initially 4000 employees worked at the Hanover plant, of which just 25 were women! Thankfully that had spiralled to 270 by the end of 1956 and 1044 by 1959. In 1974, the factory even had ‘maternity rooms’, which was a relatively ground-breaking feature back then and the exhibition has an interview with the lady who pushed (sorry!) for their introduction.
By 1962 the millionth Transporter had left Hanover, and of course subsequently the workforce went on to produce the T2, T3, T4, T5 and is currently working on the sixth generation of Transporter. It now employs 14,500 people.
If you were planning a European tour in your bus this year, why not take a detour…
Ian
The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage