PORT ELIZABETH-based Delta Motor Corporation is geared for growth into 2003 and beyond with the completion of a R300-million facilities upgrade at the Company’s recently modernised Opel assembly plant. The latest capital expenditure of R100-million follows closely on the R200-million that was invested in a second plant in 2002 to accommodate facility changes and new assembly technologies ahead of production of the all new Opel Corsa range. The Opel plant produces a range of the Opel Corsa and Opel Astra passenger vehicles, which are distributed across Southern Africa, including five right-hand drive countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Delta is 49 per cent owned by General Motors of the United States. The primary aim of the R100-million capital injection was to facilitate the consolidation of the Company’s two Paint Shops into one modernised facility. “Delta Motor Corporation is currently in a growth phase and we hope to capitalise on these advances. There are a number of opportunities on the horizon and in anticipation of this, we are striving to maintain our production edge,” said Delta Motor Corporation’s Managing Director Willie van Wyk. “In accordance with our long term planning and our vision for our vehicle portfolio, we have progressively injected substantial capital resources into this assembly plant. Among the reasons for this is the fact that we expect to not only maintain but to increase our product quality levels. This in turn necessitated the introduction of new technology and processes, as well as facility upgrades and general modernisation,” said Van Wyk. The new paint facility now accommodates the entire Opel range, including the Opel Corsa utility vehicle which is presently assembled at the Company’s Kempston Road Plant, as well as the full range of Isuzu KB light delivery vehicles which are also built at Kempston Road. The new Paint Shop delivers substantially increased capacity as well as additional new features such as automated exterior spray painting through the use of a number of imported, specialised robots. A new PVC underbody spray deck and the introduction of colour keyed primer coats, both enhancements which are directed at vastly improving quality and the Paint Shop’s efficiency, are also among the new features. A new Paint Bank or storage facility– a vertical, multi-level structure that accommodates up to 70 in-process vehicle bodies - has also been constructed and the Company now operates two such banks. The banks assist in enabling the plant to operate smoothly and efficiently. Further, and to capacitate the large increase in volume, the Paint Shop area is now operated on a double shift. “Over the past year, the national economy has shown vast improvements and confidence in this economy - from the local business community and business abroad - has shown very positive growth. We share this positive outlook and accordingly, we are anticipating further growth,” commented Van Wyk. Adding that the Opel plant was commissioned by Delta Motor Corporation as a state-of-the-art assembly facility a little more than five years ago, he concluded that: “We aim to ensure that this facility retains leading edge technology towards providing our customers with the highest quality products.” While the bulk of expenditure during the initial modernisation phase focussed on the procurement of specialised robotics and the tooling required for the new level Opel Corsa, another major feature of this investment was the construction of a 7200 square meter bulk warehouse. This warehouse, situated in close proximity to the assembly areas, offers a superior component inventory control system with efficient and direct access to the production lines. The spin-offs from the capital expenditure have not been confined to just production facilities upgrades, but have also been directed at the approximately 750 employees at the plant. In this regard, employees are benefiting from a new Medical Centre, new locker and cloakroom facilities and new Paint Shop offices, among other improvements.