For the next generation – OPEL Edwin VW T5 User Manual
Page 22
hen the first owners of the new
Smart Forfour proudly open the
doors to their cars in the spring of
2004, they will hardly guess how much effort
was needed to make this possible: three years
of development time for the hinge and anoth-
er 20 months for the equipment on which it is
produced.
INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE
At Hauzenberg in the Bavarian Forest, a 30
kilometer drive from Passau, Edscha invested
in the summer of 2003 about three million
NOTCH STOP
In October 2003, Edscha’s latest hinge generation
will go into production. A highly sensitive steel colossus weighing
150 tons has been especially designed to produce it.
euros in a specially designed production faci-
lity for the Notch Stop, the group’s latest inte-
grated hinge generation. This hinge not only
affords more comfort to drivers, but also
distinct advantages to carmakers during
assembly (pages 10f.). As of the coming year,
the Notch Stop – three million copies of it
annually – will also be opening doors and
locking them in position in five other vehicles
in addition to the Smart Forfour.
To enable each Notch Stop to perform its
task perfectly, hinge production must attain
both a high level of precision and, if produc-
For the next
generation
W
22