Friday 19th November 2004

Sweden Trip

On the 19th of November the Norse Performance team went to Sweden to visit the Saab Museum and go on a tour of the Saab factory in Trollhatten. We had seen a number of other Saab enthusiasts were arranging a visit on the Saabscene forum and decided the opportunity of visiting the motherland was too good to miss!

Flights were especially good value through Ryan Air at £1 plus taxes. However this would mean an early morning trip from Sussex to Stanstead Airport at 2.30am to catch the 7.30am flight. The Aero made this a comfortable trip, but getting up that early was still painful.

Once we had downed some strong coffee and boarded the plane we had a pleasant 2-hour flight into Gothenburg City Airport. The temperature on arrival was a bracing -8°c. We had a spirited taxi ride to Gothenburg train station. We boarded a train to Trollhatten and had an enjoyable ride and a chance to relax and view the Swedish countryside. We also had an amusing time reading or should I say trying to read, a selection of Swedish newspapers and magazines.

After another coffee in a local café we went on to the Saab factory. We had a brief presentation on the history of Saab by our guide. We then boarded a small 'road train' which would carry us round the large factory complex. The factory tour included the full manufacturing process from the sheet steel to the finished Saab 93 Sports Saloon. It was very impressive to see the robotics welding the body shells and the huge metal presses stamping out the whole side of the car in a single blow. The logistics required to ensure the whole plant runs smoothly were also amazing. The whole plant runs on a just in time stock system, which means the whole plant is busy with electric forklifts delivering the right item to the right place just when its required.

After the tour we went on to the Saab Museum and viewed the impressive collection of Saabs, from the very first to the very latest Saab 9-2X. We could also view the concept cars and specialist race cars including the 900 Talladega endurance car and the 'Monster' fitted with twin three cylinder two stroke engines.

After a meal in a canal front restaurant we headed back to the airport for the flight home. Unfortunately the flight was delayed which held us up for an hour at the airport. Road closures on the M11 forced us to detour. We finally returned to Sussex at 2.30am. We had a great trip however being up for 23 hours had taken its toll!

Photos Here