Bell celebrates two decades of excellence at German factory

Published: 20 June 2023

Last week, Bell Equipment was joined by government and business representatives and employees from Bell Germany to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of its German factory in Eisenach-Kindel.

Today, the Bell ADT factory in Eisenach-Kindel offers a total of 18 000m² of production and assembly space.

Bell CEO, Leon Goosen, welcomed around 60 guests at the official ceremony.

"We followed a vision," said Bell CEO, Leon Goosen, paying tribute to the achievements of his predecessor and current Bell Group Chairman, Gary Bell, as the driving force behind the successful establishment of Bell's first production facility outside South Africa. "We needed to get closer to our customers," Goosen explained, pointing out that today 75% of the world's production of ADTs goes to Northern Hemisphere markets.

The assembly plant, which opened in November 2003 after only five months of construction, marked the beginning of a long-term strategy that has transformed the company from a specialised niche supplier to a globally oriented construction machinery manufacturer.

Since 2003, Bell ADTs have been assembled at a total of 11 bays.

270 people work at the Eisenach-Kindel site today.

Bell Equipment has been manufacturing the bins of its vehicles on-site since 2019.

The event provided an ideal opportunity to recognise long-servicing employees and present Bell Chairman, Gary Bell, with an award acknowledging his more than 50 years of service to the Group.

Numerous employees were honoured for their 20 years of membership in the company as part of the anniversary celebrations and Bell Group Chairman, Gary Bell, was presented with a commemorative plaque for more than 50 years of service.

In addition to the great commitment of the company's own employees, Bell CEO Leon Goosen expressly praised the good cooperation with the regional and municipal officials as well as the state economic development agency LEG, which have all supported the company in its goals over the past years.

Appreciation from the district and municipality (from left): Bell Group Chairman, Gary Bell and Group CEO, Leon Goosen, with District Administrator, Reinhard Krebs, and 1st Alderman Hörselberg-Hainich, Michael Thomas.