Volvo?Construction?Equipment hosted the Volvo Days event to showcase its purpose-driven mission of industry transformation, with its sustainability, electromobility and services portfolio at the forefront
The ethos of ?Change Starts Here? permeated Volvo Days 2022, as the event returned to Volvo?CE?Eskilstuna.
Melker Jernberg, president of Volvo?Construction Equipment, in his opening address, explained, ?Volvo Days is the perfect opportunity to show how we are achieving our ambitions with ready-today sustainable power solutions. It is a proud moment for me to meet our customers and partners, together with passionate employees. Through close cooperation in the value chain, we can make this change happen.?
Jernberg continued, ?It?s important to demonstrate our transformation and what we?re doing for the future of the company and the construction equipment industry.?
Jernberg showcased key figures from the company?s 2021 operations, with sales of 99,871 units sold across the year. 321 of the company?s small compact e-mobility machines, which, despite contributing little to the overall sales, showed impressive performance year-on-year as the industry begins the long journey to e-mobility with an end goal of net-zero operations.
Machines of tomorrow paving the way
A centrepiece of the vehicle show, which preceded the opening address, was the A30G Articulated Hauler. Beyond its payload capacity of 29,000 kg and maximum engine gross power of 265KW, the A30G was noted for its fossil-free steel construction. Ahead of its delivery to NCC?on?June 1, 2022, the machine was spotlighted for the innovative approach to reaching net-zero. Volvo CE?emphasised the need to embed the net-zero approach throughout the value chain, including the raw materials used in its machinery. Future rollout of the fossil-free steel is currently depend on steel availability and changes required in manufacturing.
Another debut marking Volvo CE?s transition to efficiency was the EC230, the company?s largest electric excavator. While not available on market yet, the excavator was on show. Ahead of customer tests in South?Korea and China, Volvo?CE was keen to highlight an expected reduction in energy costs of 60-70% compared to the diesel-powered EC220, and a daily capacity of eight hours (provisional on a high-power charge during a lunch break).
Sister models in the electric equipment range include the L20 Electric Compact Wheel Loader, with a 1.8 tonne payload and parallel-type linkage, permitting optimal lifting height and 100% parallel movements across six hours of active work per charge.
Debuting for the public at Volvo?Days 2022 was the company?s new demo and test track, where the battery-electric and autonomous transport solution TA15 hauler (part of the TARA?autonomous vehicle range) is currently being tested and demonstrated.
Beyond the machines themselves, Jernberg noted the 14% service sales of the year?s entire figures, showing a 20% year-on-year increase and reflecting the growing demand for Volvo?s aftercare and complementary services.
?Services, as you know, are very important to our customers and the resilience of the business,? added Jernberg.
Services shared the spotlight with the machine innovations, with Volvo?CE noting their growing importance in the transition to net-zero.
Volvo CE is aiming to expand its supply from machine-only orders to site-optimal service solutions. Those on show at the event included the CO2 reduction programme, which offers customers tailor-made plans to cut carbon emissions across sites. The tailored support programme avoids a one-size-fits-all approach, and is fuelled by four pillars. Volvo?CE gathers insights; analyses machine data and site studies; improves efficiency and reduces CO2 emissions by implementing specific services (such as Eco?Operator and Efficient Load Out, designed to make every load more efficient with 95-99% fill rates); and sustains the implemented changes with continuous monitoring and further ways to reduce emissions in the future.
Volvo?Days 2022 embodied its ethos, showcasing how Volvo CE can lead the way for the industry?s transition to net zero in the coming decades.
