Renault premiere - Open-day event at Renault Douai plant

Renault’s Georges Besse plant at Douai will be opening its gates to the general
public at its very first open-day event, to be held on October 14 and 15 2006.
Volunteer plant personnel will be running special features throughout the day to
offer visitors real-life insights into the automotive industry at work. The plant is
expecting 15,000 visitors over the weekend event, which is focused on quality
industrial practice in the manufacture of Mégane, Scénic, Grand Scénic and Coupé-Cabriolet.

First-time public access to Renault Douai plant

The Georges Besse plant at Douai will be opening its gates to the general public for the very first time, at an open-day event to be held on October 14 and 15 2006. A similar event last year, but restricted to the families of plant personnel, drew a total of 9,000 visitors, on the afternoons of October 1 and 2 2005.
This year’s event extends access to the public at large, addressing anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes look at the automotive industry at work. Entrance is free, and visits run all day. The gates are open from 10:00 to 14:00, with visits running through till 18:00.

Open-day programme

The theme of the open-day event is “Quality manufacturing practice across the
Mégane range”. A volunteer staff of 400 Renault personnel will be offering visitors
fascinating insights into how Mégane, Coupé-Cabriolet, Scénic and Grand Scénic are made.
The guided walkaround, which lasts about three hours, follows the manufacturing
process through the press shop, body assembly, paintwork and final assembly stages.
Though the plant will not actually be making cars during the open-day weekend, there will be many features and filmshows running to recreate the atmosphere of everyday conditions at the working plant.

– Volunteer personnel will be on hand throughout the plant to answer visitors’
questions, comment on what their jobs involve, and explain the manufacturing
process. Explanations will be backed up by panels and videos.
– Some machines will be running, such as the 5400-tonne press (Renault’s biggest). And body assembly robots will have been programmed for the occasion to hand out sweets and sign autographs.
– There will be many special features for visitors all ages, including dexterity schools, agility games, a quality quiz, and a test-drive for a fork-lift truck.
– In addition to the walkaround, there are two thematic exhibitions:
- Scénic ten years on: Renault Douai is the only plant making Scénic, Europe’s
biggest-selling MPV, initially released in 1996. The latest-generation New Scénic
was released on September 20 2006.
- Renault F1 Team, with a Formula One show car and driving simulators.

Special partnership with dealer network

The Douai plant worked in partnership with Renault’s Northern France dealer network to encourage customers to visit the plant. Over 3,000 invitations were handed out during the New Scénic release campaign in late September, and a special visit has been arranged for these customers during the prime Saturday morning time-slot. This is the first time that Renault has invited customers into its manufacturing facilities at this kind of scale.

Practicalities

- Event open to the general public, with no entrance fee
- Entrance from 10:00 to 14:00, with visits ending 18:00
- Three-hour visit
- Wheelchair and pushchair access to three out of four buildings
- Restaurant facilities available

A toll-free number —08 05 40 12 12— has been set up to provide access and other
practical information on this event.

Contacts
Yann Dorison, +33 (0)6 77 06 11 86
Violaine Morel, +33 (0)1 76 83 80 40
Communications Department, Georges Besse Plant

sursa: renault.com