Keep on trucking

• April
• 28

 Intelligent transport technology using telematics is set to transform the logistics world forever.
It’s 3am in the morning as the Irish truck driver passes Rouen and spots a sign for Le Havre. “Not long now,” he thinks, as he envisions a meal and some shut-eye on the voyage home. His reverie is disrupted by a call from an operator at the supply hub back in Dublin.

“Jimmy!” the operator beckons. “Will you cool it on the speed. You’re doing over 120km per hour. You’ve been driving non-stop for the past few hours. Be careful or you’ll kill someone. Slow it down!”

This scenario sounds futuristic, but the technologies are in place to allow businesses keep an eye on assets such as trucks using a combination of mobile technology and internet mapping systems.

The field of expertise, known as telematics, is being used by businesses to boost efficiency, security and also to eliminate road injuries and even deaths.

Vehicle telematics systems can be used for a variety of purposes from managing road usage, pricing vehicle insurance, tracking fleet vehicle locations to cold-store logistics, retrieving stolen vehicles and accident prevention.

Truck-makers capitalise on Russia’s growth

• April
• 24

Leading Swedish truck maker Scania doubled its sales in Russia last year, making the country its third largest market.

Scania makes buses in St. Petersburg, wants to build trucks, and is looking to add value through its service network

“We are now in more then 30 cities of Russia with Scania service centres. We are adding service centers from ten to fifteen every year. Actually, in 2010 we will have more than fifty service centers all over Russia,” the president of Scania Russia Rajmo Lehtio said.

Another major, Volvo Trucks, is setting up a factory in Kaluga region.

“We have an assembly plant in Zelenograd, just outside of Moscow. Last year we produced a little bit more than 500 trucks. In the beginning of the next year we will have a factory with a capacity of 10,000 Volvo trucks and 5,000 Renault trucks. So, it is a very serious step forward into this market,” added deputy managing director of Volvo Trucks Lars Himmer.

The third largest vehicle maker MAN recently won two contracts to sell about 5,000 heavy trucks to Russia.

Russia’s largest truck maker KAMAZ is borrowing $US 200 million for new investment.

Volvo to pay $7M fine for paying kickbacks

• April
• 15

Volvo will pay $7 million for kickback payments to the Iraqi government under a United Nations humanitarian program, the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday.

AB Volvo acknowledged responsibility for actions of its subsidiaries that paid kickbacks to the Iraqi government in exchange for trucks and construction equipment contracts, the department said in a release.

The agreement requires Volvo to cooperate with investigations into the U.N. Oil for Food program, established to allow Iraq to sell oil for humanitarian purposes when economic sanctions were in effect.

The Justice Department also filed charges against subsidiaries Renault Trucks SAS and Volvo Construction Equipment AB in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, charging they separately conspired to commit wire fraud and violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The documents allege Renault Trucks paid about $5 million in kickbacks to the Iraqi government for about $94 million worth of contracts. To pay the kickbacks, Renault Trucks inflated contract prices before submitting them for U.N. approval.

In a related matter, AB Volvo settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission, agreeing to pay a $4 million fine and $8.6 million in disgorgement of profits in connection with kickback contracts.

President Bush Tours Volvo Group Exhibition of CO2-neutral Trucks in Washington, D.C.

• April
• 14

The President toured the display hall at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (www.wirec2008.com) where seven Volvo Group trucks - six Volvo truck models and one Mack Truck - each capable of operating on different renewable fuels, were presented. “Each of the trucks seen by President Bush can be driven without any net contribution of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere,” said Johansson. The display also included a Mack hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), which will be delivered to the U.S. Air Force under a cooperative research and development agreement. Four Mack HEV trucks are currently being tested by the U.S. Air Force.

During his address to conference participants, President Bush noted “Expanding use in ethanol and biodiesel requires getting more cars on the road that use these alternative fuels. We expect the private sector to respond.”

Amazing joint venture with Mack and Volvo on these giant trucks that are using biodiesel to power them,” continued President Bush. “Technology is changing. Five years ago those trucks would not have been available for people at this exhibit to look at. Today they’re on the road. As a matter of fact, the United States Air Force is using these kinds of trucks. Things are changing.”

The Volvo Group is also participating in an environmental agreement developed by the American and Swedish governments. The program aims at reducing the use of fossil fuels through cooperative projects in the areas of energy and automotive development, including advanced hybrid and alternative driveline technology.

Mercedes-Benz to make 12,500 vehicles at Chakan

• April
• 11

Mercedes-Benz India Private Limited, the Indian arm of Daimler AG, is looking at a total capacity of 12,500 units per annum, including passenger and commercial vehicles at its upcoming manufacturing plant in Chakan.

“We are looking at an initial capacity of 10,000 passenger vehicles (two shifts) and 2,500 commercial vehicles, including buses and trucks,” said Piyush Arora, director technical, member of board of management, Mercedes-Benz India Private Limited.

He added that the capacity could be further expanded depending upon the demand.

“Our problem is to get more vehicles and not demand, as that is there,” said Wilfried Aulbur, managing director and chief executive officer, Mercedes-Benz India Private Limited on the sidelines of the rolling of the 20,000th Indian-made Mercedes-Benz from its existing plant in Pune on Wednesday. “The first model to roll out from here way back in 1995 was the E-class and the 20,000th car rolled out today is also an E-class, marking the success story of the product in the market,” said Aulbur. “It is also the 10,000th E-class to be sold in India,” he added.

The company has sold 1,094 cars within the first three months of 2008, as against 690 cars sold during the same period last year. In 2007, Mercedes-Benz had sold a total of 2,491 cars. As far as its Actros trucks are concerned, the company sold 156 trucks last year and this year, till now, 64 trucks have been sold. The assembling of Actros started last November.

80 years of innovative transport solutions

• April
• 10

With a modern product range, a leading range of services behind the product and a professional dealer network with more than 1,000 sales and service points in Europe, DAF is one of the leading truck manufacturers in Europe. Its position is built on 80 years of heritage. On 1 April 1928 DAF’s founder, Hub van Doorne, started a small engineering business, ‘Hub van Doorne, Machinefabriek en Reparatie-inrichting’. Together with his brother Wim he laid the foundations of DAF as a leading truck manufacturer. And the basis for a rich history characterised by innovative transport solutions.

Hub van Doorne, was born on 1 January 1900 in America – a small village in Limburg, the Netherlands. He was the eldest son of a village black smith. In the mid nineteen twenties, he was foreman in the engineering works of Sjef Mandigers in Eindhoven. There he comes into contact with Mr Huenges, the owner of the Coolen brewery and ice factory who has a Stearns-Knight automobile with a sleeve valve engine. Whenever it breaks down, Hub van Doorne proves to be the only one who can get it going again. Mr Huenges is so impressed by the technical capabilities of Hub van Doorne that he offers help in setting up a business for him. On 1 April 1928 Mr Huenges makes NLG 10,000 available for this purpose.

New activities
The engineering business begins with four employees in a small workshop in a corner of the brewery. The activities focus on welding, engineering and forging work, in particular for the canal boats calling at Eindhoven and for Philips, for which products such as balustrades and bicycle stands were made. Within a year, the first expansion is already a fact and there are 32 people on the payroll. The Great Depression in the nineteen thirties forces the young company, now co-managed by Hub’s younger brother Wim, to look for new activities. It is decided to start manufacturing trailers and semi-trailers. In 1933, when electric welding of heavy load-bearing constructions is still in a very early stage, Hub van Doorne and his engineering assistant Mr Baghuis start fabricating complete chassis by welding. The result is a featherweight semi-trailer which attracts the attention of everyone in the trade.

Sinotruck’s heavy duty truck hit monthly sales high

• April
• 9

China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Corp. (Sinotruck), one of the county’s largest truck producer, sold a monthly record of 15,000 heavy duty trucks in March.

Sales of heavy duty trucks in the first quarter hit 32,500 units, an increase of 41 percent over the same period of last year, according to the company.

Sales revenue totaled 10 billion yuan (1.43 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, up more than 40 percent year on year.

The company attributed its good sales performance to the efforts on technology improvement and a robust demand from both domestic and overseas markets. Sinotruck has devoted more than 500 million yuan in technology upgrading.

It also admitted that the the company was under the pressures of soaring steel price, and environment protection measures implemented in some overseas markets in Russia, West Asia and Middle East.

Sinotruck said earlier that it aimed to produce 125,000 units of heavy duty truck this year, up from last year’s 100,000.

The Jinan-headquartered company is among world’s top five heavy truck producers, which exported more than 13,000 units of heavy duty trucks and earned about 400 million U.S. dollars in 2007.

Sinotruck establishes its name by manufacturing China’s first heavy duty truck named “Huanghe”, introducing the “Steyr” series production technology and teaming up with Volvo Automobile Company in producing advanced heavy duty trucks.

Volvo Trucks rewarded for diversity initiatives

• April
• 8

Anders Olausson factory manager at Volvo Trucks, received the ‘Competence Award for Diversity Initiatives’ for his work on increasing the proportion of women in Volvo’s Tuve assembly plant in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The Tuve factory assembles the company’s heaviest and most complex trucks, and since its inception in 1982 has been strongly male-dominated. It has 2,500 employees, including just over 400 women, encompassing around 40 nationalities.

Anders Olausson’s strong commitment is entirely in line with Volvo Trucks’ over-riding ambitions regarding diversity issues. It is an approach that also puts the spotlight on integration as a means of promoting diversity.

More women
Anders Olausson, who sees considerable advantages in having a workplace with greater diversity, has worked consistently to increase the proportion of female employees. He represents a strong determination to see more women in managerial positions, as well as more female assembly workers. The aim is that one out of every three new recruits should be female; an aim that has increased the proportion of women by 70 per cent – from 237 to 407 – in just two years.

“We can see that our business results benefit through greater diversity, not least through better balance between the genders in all jobs,” adds Anders Olausson. “We currently have 15 per cent female employees, of whom 8 women are in managerial positions. These are figures we aim to improve still further.”

Record-breaking Heighley Gate Garden Centre’s first-ever Volvo

• April
• 7

Family-owned business Heighley Gate Garden Centre of Morpeth in Northumberland has taken delivery of its first-ever Volvo truck, an FL-240, 18 tonne GVW rigid which was supplied by Volvo Truck and Bus Centre North in Blyth.

The company was recently given a certificate by the Guinness Book of World Records for building the ‘biggest bird box in the world’. The initiative was devised to get people’s attention for the business with the Guinness accolade and to encourage customers to feed the birds in their gardens.

Heighley Gate’s Transport Manager Simon Wood said that Volvo’s local and national reputation for reliability and service helped the company choose the FL over other 18-tonners on offer. ”The local quarries use Volvo trucks and everyone speaks very highly of them. We negotiated with Volvo Truck and Bus Centre North and put the specification we required to them. They came back very quickly with absolutely excellent service. They also provided the driver training which included the support for the crane.”

According to Simon though, the best overall feature of the new FL is the payload, which he says, exceeds 9 tonnes.

The truck features a Palfinger PK1000 7.5 tonnes per metre crane, which is used for loading mixed aggregates for rockeries and pathways as well as a wide variety of products such as turf and compost.

Volvo Trucks, union end strike, reach three-year agreement

• April
• 4

Volvo Trucks North America announced this weekend that it had reached a three-year agreement with the United Auto Workers. Striking employees will go back to work March 24.

The agreement with UAW Local #2069 covers about 2,600 employees at the Greensboro firm’s New River Valley plant in Dublin, Va. The new contract goes into effect March 17 and is good through March 16, 2011.

Production of Volvo’s VT, VN and VHD trucks at the plant stopped after the UAW and its affiliated #2069 went on strike at 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 31, when the company’s contract with the union ran out.

“This agreement will help us improve the competitiveness of our NRV plant, while continuing to provide our employees with a very competitive package of wages and benefits,” said Per Carlsson, president and CEO of Volvo Trucks North America. “Our focus now is on getting trucks to our customers as soon as possible, and strengthening our relationship with our NRV employees.”

Volvo Trucks North America is part of the Swedish company, Volvo Group.