Volvo Construction Equipment

and related industries.

Overview

[
balloon payloads at Esrange in northern Sweden.] Volvo CE's product leaders in many world markets include a comprehensive range of wheel loaders, wheeled and crawler hydraulic excavators, articulated haulers, motor graders, backhoe loaders, skid steer loaders, as well as compact excavators, skid steers, and wheel loaders. Volvo Construction Equipment has production facilities in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America. The company offers worldwide service and spare-part distribution.

Volvo Construction Equipment mainly distributes its machines through independent dealers and, in parallel with their rental program, to customers in more than 200 countries. Principal Volvo products for the rental centers include the company’s comprehensive line of compact excavators, skid steers, and backhoe loaders.

The corporation's equipment rental arm, Volvo Rents, began its equipment franchising initiative in 2001. The company now has nearly 90 equipment rental centers—mostly in North America—and continues to expand its operations in Europe with rental centers in Portugal and Spain. As part of the Volvo acquisition of Ingersoll Rand road machinery, approximately 30 former "Ingersoll Rand Equipment Stores" have been transitioned to "Volvo Construction Equipment & Services" locations that will sell, rent and support road machinery, compact equipment, and material handling products.

History

In 1950, AB Volvo bought the machine manufacturer Bolinder-Munktell (BM). In 1973, the company name was changed to Volvo BM AB. During the 1980s and 1990s, a number of American, European and Asian construction equipment manufacturers were purchased. In 1995, the name was changed to Volvo Construction Equipment. Up until 1985 Volvo BM also produced tractors and other agricultural machines; the tractor manufacturing division was sold to Valmet in 1985.

For more information see the Volvo Construction Equipment global history site:www.volvo.com/constructionequipment/global/en-gb/AboutUs/history/

In February 2007, Volvo announced it had agreed to buy the road construction equipment division of Ingersoll-Rand for $1.3 billion in cash to expand its operations in the U.S.

The unit manufactures and sells asphalt paving equipment, compaction equipment, milling machines and construction-related material handling equipment and generated net revenues of approximately $850 million for 2006. The sale includes manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania, Germany, China and India, as well as 20 distribution and service facilities in the U.S. The business employs approximately 2,000 people worldwide.

ee also

*Engineering vehicles
*Euclid Trucks – dump trucks (company taken over by Volvo)
*Bolinder-Munktell

External links

* [http://www.volvo.com/constructionequipment/ Volvo Construction Equipment]
* [http://www.volvo.com/constructionequipment/global/en-gb/AboutUs/history/ Extensive history of companies comprising Volvo Constructon Equipment and their products] "official site"