Volvo CE’s committed to innovation despite tough global market

7659 Volvo Construction Equipment is said to be demonstrating its commitment to innovation despite the tough global sales market.

The Swedish construction and quarrying equipment giant has this week unveiled its 90tonne Tier 4 Final/Stage IV complaint EC950E hydraulic crawler excavator – the biggest hydraulic crawler excavator it has ever made - and its 55tonne A60H articulated hauler.

“I’m very pleased to say that on the first day of the show, we were taking order on this,” said Martin Weissburg, president of Volvo CE, about the EC950E. “We’re very excited about it. It’s the best in class, driving the best total cost of ownership for our customers in terms of cost per tonne moved. It’s meeting demand and strengthening our support for customers in the mining, quarrying and heavy construction segment.”  

Volvo CE’s new 55-tonne capacity Volvo A60H, the second biggest the company has ever made, was also said by Weissburg to be meeting growing customer demand for articulated haulers with larger capacities. The model includes innovative Volvo intelligent monitoring systems, such as MATRIS and CareTrack.

Weissburg continued, “No matter where we are in the business cycle, the Volvo Group and Volvo CE continues to invest to make sure that we are the industry leaders in driving innovation.

“We talk about the future of Volvo, and it’s about continuing to be pioneers, continuing to be leaders, be it in Volvo CE, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Penta, Volvo Buses - all of our equipment.”

Weissburg also highlighted how Volvo CE had been behind technological advancement in its compact model lines, which were enjoying growing demand.  

During the Volvo CE exhibition press conference, Weissburg highlighted Volvo’s electric site quarry project, run in partnership with 2296 Skanska, the Swedish Energy Agency, and two universities.

“It’s a development project to electrify the operation of a quarry. This could transform our industry,” he exclaimed. “It could reduce the environmental impact but also improve the operational efficiency, making quarrying more profitable.”

Turning his attention to the European construction equipment market, Weissburg said unit sales in 2016 were likely to be equal or slightly lower than last year – despite “growing in many national markets”. He said Volvo CE’s dual brand presence in China, where it also offers 5316 SDLG-branded equipment, coupled with its continued investment in its Chinese distribution network and customers, left it well positioned to meet fresh equipment demand when it finally materialises.