The foundation stone for a unique success story was literally laid 60 years ago today. On March 8, 1956, production of the Bulli began at the newly built van plant in Hanover. On a 1.1 million square meter site in the Stöcken district, an entire plant - the largest production hall in Europe at the time - was built within just one year. It was also the beginning of a unique era in vehicle construction: the legendary Bulli (T-series) has been built here ever since.
Symbol of the economic miracle
Heinz Rühmann plays "Charley's Aunt" in the cinemas, Elvis Presley's hit "Love me tender" plays from small transistor radios. And the Germans discover their love of the automobile: the so-called economic miracle has arrived. The Volkswagen Beetle is the best-selling car of 1956, breaking the million mark in the course of the year. The Bulli is also in great demand. Production capacity at the main plant in Wolfsburg, where the Bulli has been built since 1950, is nowhere near enough to meet demand. Bread, beer and meatballs have to reach the consumer. Consumer goods such as televisions and refrigerators also need to be delivered to customers as quickly and safely as possible. Business people and tradesmen need the indestructible Bulli for this.
Over 235 towns and municipalities apply to become the new location for the planned Transporter plant. Heinrich Nordhoff, General Director of Volkswagenwerk GmbH and later Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagenwerk AG, wins over the Supervisory Board in favor of his preferred location in Hanover. But even then, Nordhoff recognizes: "The value of a company is not determined by buildings and machines, nor by its banknotes. Only the people who work for a company and the spirit in which they do it are valuable."
From nothing.
Initially, 372 employees begin construction in a snowy winter. By the end of March 1955, 1,000 workers were already employed on the construction site. The muddy ground, now softened by the onset of the thaw, has to be secured with plank paths so that trucks can deliver building materials. A small, provisional town is growing up on the site itself - with construction offices, supply and accommodation barracks and canteen tents. Enterprising traders with stalls also quickly set up shop here.
After just 12 weeks, the walls are already over four meters high. 28 cranes are in constant use, 22 large mixing machines are churning out 5,000 cubic meters of concrete every day. A total of 1,750,000 cubic meters of earth is moved - as much as 256,000 truckloads at the time.
Record-breaking
From May, around 2,000 workers will be working on the huge construction site every day. 600,000 square meters of formwork timber are used for the concrete pour. For comparison: "This could have been used to build a one-meter-wide wooden footbridge from Wolfsburg to Basel," wrote a journalist at the time.
At the same time, Volkswagen is already training new employees for van production. Every day at 4.10 a.m., they take a special train from the main station to Wolfsburg, where they are instructed in the production of the Bulli. 3,000 employees are to guarantee a smooth start to production. The body shop is set up in just a few weeks, and in February 1956 the multi-track, ten-kilometer-long rail link to the plant is also completed.
After just one year of construction
On March 8, 1956, series production of a future symbol of the "economic miracle years" starts in Hanover-Stöcken with 4,000 employees. By 1967, the end of production of the first Transporter generation, 1.8 million Bulli had rolled off the production line in Germany.
To date, a total of around 12 million vans have been produced worldwide and around 14,500 people are now employed.
