► GDELS growth strategy on track: Groundbreaking ceremony at the Immenstaad production site
With today’s groundbreaking ceremony for its new site in Immenstaad at Lake Constance, General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) has reached another milestone in its 24/500 strategy for Germany. The company is investing in a new plant for the assembly and integration of wheeled armored vehicles. In addition to 10,000 m² of production hall, offices and social areas will be built. Upon completion at the end of 2026, approximately 10 employees will work at the new site in Baden-Württemberg, primarily skilled production workers. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by local and regional political decision- makers as well as by the constituency’s member of the German Bundestag.
“The new production facility will be constructed from the ground up according to the latest guidelines and with state-of-the-art equipment. From the very beginning of the planning process, we placed particular emphasis on maximum flexibility to be able to swiftly adapt to potentially growing and changing customer requirements in the future,” emphasized Dr. Thomas Kauffmann, Vice President and Managing Director of GDELS Germany.
Giuseppe Chillari, GDELS Vice President and Managing Director of GDELS-Mowag, based in Kreuzlingen, emphasized the ideal location: “Immenstaad is an ideal location not only due to the significant establishment of other important companies of our industry sector, but above all because of its strategic location, which greatly facilitates close networking with our existing facilities in Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria, and Switzerland. With our new vehicle plant, we are joining the collective labor agreement of Südwestmetall and look forward to contributing to the economic development of the region as a new employer.”
“The substantial investment and increase in personnel in Germany are resulting from our commitments to the German Armed Forces, which we will fulfill with proven reliability and without delay. At the same time, we are strengthening and expanding our capacities at all locations in Europe,” said GDELS President Antonio Bueno.
The 24/500 growth strategy envisions the accelerated expansion of GDELS’ manufacturing and service capacities in Germany. This includes not only the two additional production facilities in Oberpfaffenhofen and Immenstaad, but also capacity expansion at the Kaiserslautern/Sembach and Neubrandenburg locations. The two southern German sites will operate under the new name “GDELS Fahrzeugwerke”.
