TRANSPARENT FACTORY TENTH BIRTHDAY

Dresden, 01 December 2011 - Volkswagen opened Transparent Factory on 11 December 2001 in the centre of Dresden. To this day, the Factory and the Phaeton which is built here stand for top quality, traditional craftsmanship and timeless elegance. At the same time, the production site has developed into a famous location for cultural events.

Both the building and the product set benchmarks. The production concept is, however, also spectacular: the factory has been integrated carefully into the cityscape of Dresden and combines industrial automotive production processes with manual craftsmanship. The Factory's balance is very successful ten years after it opened: since 2001 more than 60,000 vehicles have been built here. Approximately 7,500 Phaetons were built in the record year 2010. A new production record is expected for 2011.

Transparent Factory has also established itself as a very special cultural and event location. The opera "Carmen" was performed here in October 2002, as was the symphonic parable "Ahab" in September 2010. The open-air concert "Classical Picnic" has become an integral part of Dresden's cultural calendar since 2008.

More than one million guests from all over the world have visited the Factory, including former German President Richard von Weizsäcker, the former Russian politician and Nobel Prize winner Michail Gorbachev as well Prince Albert of Monaco.


*Words & Photos courtesy of Volkswagen AG