Examples of the Swedish construction equipment manufacturing giant’s ongoing investment in new technology include prototypes such as the LX1 electric hybrid wheeled loader; the HX1 battery-electric, fully autonomous load carrier; and the HX2, another battery-electric, fully autonomous loader, on show at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2017.
Speaking at the Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) show press conference, Weissburg said: “The LX1 is currently in service now with a waste management customer working in conjunction with The State of California in a couple of prototype testing environments. The loader is already demonstrating significant productivity improvements along with, obviously, offering less fuel burn. It is an example of how we are putting all these models into productive jobsite applications and really driving these projects forward.”
Volvo CE is part of Volvo Group’s Construction Equipment business division, which also includes Terex Trucks and SDLG.
Weissburg said Volvo Group’s investment in technology, from which Volvo CE benefits, covers three core themes: electric mobility, automation, and connected products.
“We have over 600,000 connected [construction equipment] machines, trucks and buses across global fleets today, and that number is growing daily. I’m fairly sure this makes us the largest fleet globally of commercial equipment. It’s that critical mass that allows us to walk in the shoes of the customers.”
Weissburg also highlighted how Volvo CE technology-based customer service and construction equipment tools now included ActiveCare Direct, Co-Pilot, 24-Hours Parts Guarantee, Volvo Dig Assist, Volvo Compact Assist and Volvo Load Assist.
Dig Assist, being unveiled this week, allows the excavator operator to set job parameters, such as target depth and grade; conduct In-Field Design, and view job progress in real-time, ensuring the work meets exact specifications.
The latest addition to the suite of Volvo Assist programmes, Dig Assist follows the introduction of Compact Assist and Load Assist, with the suite trio providing real-time intelligence to the operator in terms that are easy to understand and directly tied to job quality.
CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2017 attendees are able to interact with all the Volvo Assist programmes on the Volvo Co-Pilot interface, a scalable, Android-powered tablet computer that was recently named as the Most Innovative Human-Machine Interface (HMI) Feature at the 2016 Car HMI, Europe’s leading human-machine interface event.
Showgoers are also getting a glimpse of future Volvo Assist Co-Pilot programs to be rolled out for soil compactors and articulated haulers.
Weissburg concluded: “The machines on show have common themes of power, strength and reliability, which are all driving customer success – not just through the iron and parts, but through the services and solutions that connect it all together. This is not just with data but in how we assist the operators, thus allowing business owners to increase their productivity from the investments that they make.”
