Volvo Construction Digs Into Asheville With Fifth Addition to Plant
Published Mar 23, 2009
Volvo Construction Equipment North America’s $56 million facility expansion is a textbook example of right location at the right time.
The global giant had its pick of sites and eager communities to tap into, but chose to add a fifth line of excavators at its Asheville manufacturing and assembly complex for a number of reasons, says Allison Moses, vice president and general manager.
“With the sales office and demo center already here, the company was able to leverage the opportunity,” Moses says. “Now we can bring in dealers and take them for a talk at the sales company, over here for a factory tour, and then to the demo site to operate the machines. We really have good synergy here now.”
The upgrade didn’t involve bricks-and-mortar construction, but a reconfiguration of the factory’s interior to add the equipment necessary to build the EC240 excavator.
That product now joins the EC160C, EC210C, EC330C and EC360C lines produced at the 400,000-square-foot complex.
All told, the plant now builds almost half of Volvo’s excavator product line. The expansion also has introduced the capability to produce excavator and wheel-loader cabs at the plant as well.
Volvo’s Asheville plant is tied into its global manufacturing network, and the excavators produced here are sold primarily in the U.S. and Canadian markets. The new product line at the plant is expected to add between 250 and 300 jobs over time, although economic conditions have slowed new hiring in the short term.
“We see the current situation as temporary, but it has delayed the project somewhat,” Moses says. “But things will turn around, so those jobs will come. The space and operational processes are here, and we’ve got a good base to build from.”
Story by Joe Morris
Current Weather Conditions In Fletcher, NC (28732)
Cloudy, and 69 ° F. For more details?
Click here...
