Nissan’s first model turns 20

This Saturday (8 July) will mark the 20th anniversary of Nissan’s Sunderland Plant producing its very first car.

The white Bluebird saloon was driven off the line on Tuesday 8 July 1986 and was donated to the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, where it can still be seen on display in the ‘Time Machine’ exhibit.

In that first year of production 470 staff had a production target of 24,000 Bluebirds. Twenty years on, more than 4,200 employees produce around 310,000 Micras, C+Cs, NOTEs, Almeras and Primeras each year.

And in December, a 4x4 car based on the Qashqai concept will become the 10th new model to be launched on Wearside since cars began rolling off the line. This model could help Sunderland’s total annual volume rise to around 400,000 units by the end of 2007.

This is a far cry from the early days when the fledgling plant assembled Bluebirds that were shipped over in wooden crates from Japan.

Engineering Manager, Steve Clare, who joined Nissan in 1985 as a maintenance technician said: "The main transfer line was called the ‘Liger Line’ after the two national animals of the UK and Japan (lion and tiger).

"There have been lots of changes since then, for example in 1986 the Body Shop only operated 20 robots – these days the automation level in that Shop is over 80% with around 700 robots."

John Pigg, a Team Leader in Material Handling, added: "My job on the first Bluebirds was to break open the crates they arrived in and lay out all the parts ready for production.

"The plant has developed massively since then – I can remember the local farmer coming in and cutting hay in a field where our Body and Press Shops are now."

In the 20 years that Sunderland has been operational, more than 4.3 million cars have been produced for 55 markets around the world, including Japan. And the factory now represents over £2.3 billion of investment.

Trevor Mann, Vice President for Manufacturing, UK, commented: "I joined the plant myself in 1985 as a Team Leader in Final Assembly. All of the first intake of supervisors and managers were flown to Japan for three months to learn how to build cars according to the 'Nissan Production Way'.

"What impressed me most was that the group who established the plant were not all from the car industry. But one thing they all had in common, which I think can still be said of all Sunderland Plant employees today, was motivation, skill and a 'can-do' attitude.

"Since the first Bluebird came off the line 20 years ago, we have introduced two shifts, new products and new processes. All of these were highly challenging and I believe a less able workforce could have failed. But a major strength of this plant is that we have always delivered what we say we will, and that is still as true today as it was in 1986."