EVEN as plans were being drawn up to close Ellesmere Port’s Vauxhall plant, it was being hailed as the company’s most efficient.

Since July last year it has run record line rates of 47 units per hour.

And the cars it produces sell well – about 93% of the plant’s production is dedicated to the Astra Sports Tourer, which is first in its segment in the UK and in high demand across Europe and Germany.

Some 62,575 new Astras were registered in the UK last year, making it the fifth biggest selling car in the country.

Before the plant was saved, Unite union convenor John Fetherstone insisted: “Only a lunatic would look to close Ellesmere Port.”

But General Motors has been desperate to turn round huge losses in Europe, and had drawn up plans that would have seen the plants at Ellesmere Port and Bochum in Germany shut, focussing production on Opel’s headquarters at Rüsselsheim, Germany and at Gliwice in Poland.

It blamed a surplus on $700m losses in Europe in 2011, in contrast to its profit-making US and Asian markets.

Redundancy packages have provided an incentive for workers over the age of 55 to leave the plant, paving the way for younger apprentices to start.

As the workers played the biggest part in proving the plant’s worth to its owners, business secretary Vince Cable flew to New York and Geneva for crunch talks to further persuade General Motors bosses.

In his time as Unite general secretary, and even after stepping down, Tony Woodley fought for the plant’s future while successor Len McCluskey took up the mantle.

The union has proved pivotal in convincing workers of the measures necessary to preserve their jobs, and helping the plant prove its ability.

Vauxhall chief executive Duncan Aldred said last week: “Our business decision was based on a series of factors, including labour market flexibility and the overall competitiveness of Ellesmere Port.”

Even before the recent upheaval, workers had feared for their livelihoods, when the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and received a $50bn bailout from President Barack Obama's administration in 2009.