2012: Opel celebrates 150th anniversary
2012: Opel celebrates 150th year
Rüsselsheim. At midnight on New Year’s Eve, Opel employees will not just be raising their glasses to the New Year but will be toasting the start of the 150th anniversary year of Opel. In 1862, the founding father, Adam Opel, could hardly have envisaged that his firm would one day become one of the biggest car makers in Europe.
In the year 1862, Adam Opel uses his father’s locksmith workshop in Rüsselsheim, Germany, to make sewing machines. The business takes off. Soon bicycles are sold and in 1886, the first bike, the “Velociped” model has its market launch. Bicycles from Rüsselsheim quickly become popular. By the middle of the nineteen-twenties, Opel has established itself as the world’s largest bicycle manufacturer. In the meantime, motorbikes have also been added to the list of products. Opel’s automotive history starts in 1899, making it the second-oldest car maker in Germany after Daimler-Benz.
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