Editor at Large: Interviewing New Volvo CE President and CEO Pat Olney

Volvo is a brand built on attributes of value. When a contractor buys a Volvo commercial vehicle — bus, boat, truck or construction machine — he or she is partly buying into the symbolic value the company promises when it welds that steely Volvo nameplate to the front grille.

When touring Volvo Construction Equipment’s renovated Shippensburg, Pa., facility this September, it was impressed upon editors to think of the enormous manufacturing complex as a similar symbol (this time of progress and investment). The company plans to spend $100 million over the next four years to expand the big Shippensburg structure (currently used to make Volvo CE’s road machinery) in preparation for new production of wheel loaders, excavators and articulated haulers by 2014. Volvo CE president and CEO Pat Olney sat down with Compact Equipment to discuss the big investment, which he thinks personifies Volvo’s pledge to the North American construction contractor. 

“It’s a very clear statement,” says Olney. “We’re branding that our company is committed to this market and we’re here for the long term. We are a forward, long-range thinking business. This $100 million investment shows that commitment. It’s important that people see there are companies out there that still invest in growth. There are companies that believe in this country and the prospects of this country. If you ask me about the people around here, in Shippensburg, they can see and feel that commitment and confidence in Volvo.”

 Volvo’s been growing its confidence and presence in the North American construction world for quite a while, but especially over the last decade. This exact Shippensburg facility was acquired when Volvo bought Ingersoll Rand’s road division in 2007, exhibiting its commitment to the American business of road and bridge infrastructure. Other big highlights include the introduction of Volvo Rents in 2002, further enhancing its growing distribution network into the rental markets of the United States and Canada. And just earlier this year, Volvo reintroduced a completely new line of skid steer and track loaders — a joint venture with another European-based powerhouse called JCB.

“In the compact product market, being lean and efficient is important,” says Olney of the Volvo/JCB partnership. “We felt that was the most efficient way to provide solutions for our respective customers — differentiating the products, but coming together and collaborating on the production of them.”

This new Shippensburg facility is another innovative solution, says Olney. Through it, Volvo excavators, wheel loaders and articulated haulers will have a bigger presence for North American contractors. Today the Shippensburg plant has around 850 employees, manufacturing over 50 different models of asphalt pavers, soil and asphalt compactors, milling machines and motor graders. That figure will rise to 74 machines by 2014, by which time a world-class training and customer center will also have been built. By that time, Volvo hopes to have 1,000 plant employees in Shippensburg, manufacturing a whole new generation of construction machines that embrace the real values symbolized in the Volvo brand.

“It’s quality, safety and care for the environment,” says Olney. “Quality has always been on the mind of contractors, but safety and care for the environment are on their minds more and more. I think contractors today can see how well aligned they are with the business and products we offer. They get good quality that we stand behind. They get safe equipment that’s always improving, and they get a company that is considerate to the impact of the environment — not only to the equipment, but everything we do here.” — Keith Gribbins, Managing Editor, Compact Equipment.