Advertisement

Header Utility Menu

  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Events

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

  • Login

Virginia Business

Mobile Menu

  • Issues
  • Industries
    • Banking/Finances
    • Business Law
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Energy/Green
    • Federal Contracting
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hotels/Tourism
    • Insurance
    • Ports/Trade
    • Small Business
    • Technology
    • Transportation
  • Regions
    • Central Virginia
    • Eastern Virginia
    • Northern Virginia
    • Roanoke/New River Valley
    • Shenandoah Valley
    • Southern Virginia
    • Southwest Virginia
  • Reports
    • Best Places to Work
    • Business Person of the Year
    • CEO Pay
    • Coronavirus 2020
    • Generous Virginians Project
    • Legal Elite
    • Most Influential Virginians
    • Maritime Guide
    • Site Locator
    • The Big Book
    • Virginia CFO Awards
  • Company News
    • For the Record
    • People
  • Opinion
  • Lists
  • Awards/Events
    • Diversity Leadership Series
    • Vote Now for Women in Leadership
    • Virginia 500
    • Legal Elite
    • CFO Awards
    • Big Book of Lists
    • 100 People To Meet
    • Best Places To Work
  • Virginia 500
    • Read the issue
    • Order a copy
    • Buy an award plaque
    • Nominate execs for 2021

Advertisement

Header Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Home News Regions Roanoke/New River Valley More work coming for Volvo’s New River Valley plant

More work coming for Volvo’s New River Valley plant

Published August 30, 2017 by Tim Thornton

Volvo is preparing to produce the redesigned VNL
truck series. Photo courtesy Volvo Trucks

Thanks to a new long-haul truck, Volvo has recalled all of the 2,400 workers it laid off in December at its New River Valley Plant.

The truck has more safety and comfort for drivers, more efficiency for owners and more jobs for Volvo’s factory in Dublin, the company’s largest truck plant. That plant is ready to begin production of the redesigned VNL truck series in September.

“Our employment is linked to the market and to the units that we sell,” says Franky Marchand, vice president and general manager of the New River Valley plant. “Having a strong new product that is the latest truck on the market can only be good news.”

Volvo unveiled its latest truck series in the company’s new customer center, part of a $38 million investment that included a new paint line and updated robotics.

“It comes with expectations to grow the business,” says, Göran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks North America. “We are convinced that the values we bring to our customers will give us a higher share of business here in North America.”

Volvo has about 10 percent of that long-haul truck market. Mack, also owned by Volvo, has another 10 percent. Daimler’s Freightliner has well over a third of the market.

In addition to an aerodynamic design and efficient drive train that gets more than 13 miles to the gallon while moving 80,000 pounds, the new VNL has improved safety systems, remote diagnostics and remote reprogramming. It has charging stations, USB ports, reclining bunks, connectivity, a rear view camera, a navigation system and two refrigerators – one of them under the passenger seat.

The company plans to show off these new trucks at the customer center and the adjacent test track. About 3,000 people already are visiting the track each year. With the new customer center, Marchand says, the company expects to “explode that number.”

Government regulations requiring more fuel efficiency and less pollution provide some incentive for truck buyers, Marchand says, but truck manufacturing is driven primarily by economic cycles and fleet replacement cycles, which seem to be turning in Volvo’s favor. The economy seems to be expanding, and the trucks are getting old. 

“There is plenty to be replaced,” Marchand says. “If the economy stays strong, for us the future is nice and bright.”

Related Stories

Virginia Business logo

Former DISH Network operations center sold

Pulaski County is ready to court international companies

Despite setbacks, Mountain Valley Pipeline inches forward

Trending

Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY

Finance/Insurance: PAUL B. MANNING

Federal Contractors/Technology: JASON PROVIDAKES

Education: ANNE M. KRESS

Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors

Sponsored Stories

Why is my Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight pricing going up and my service level going down?  

Beyond Juneteenth – How Capital One is Commemorating and Implementing Change

How We Help Your Business Operate Better

Before the Breach: Get Serious About Cyber Resilience

Professionals are Discovering What it Means to Live Uniquely in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Riverside Logistics Celebrates 25th Anniversary!

Girls for a Change Empowers Black Youth for the Future Workforce

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

Advertisement

Advertisement

Trending

Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY

Finance/Insurance: PAUL B. MANNING

Federal Contractors/Technology: JASON PROVIDAKES

Education: ANNE M. KRESS

Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors

Sponsored Stories

Why is my Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight pricing going up and my service level going down?  

Beyond Juneteenth – How Capital One is Commemorating and Implementing Change

How We Help Your Business Operate Better

Before the Breach: Get Serious About Cyber Resilience

Professionals are Discovering What it Means to Live Uniquely in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Riverside Logistics Celebrates 25th Anniversary!

Girls for a Change Empowers Black Youth for the Future Workforce

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

Get Virginia Business directly on your tablet or in your mailbox!

Subscribe to Virginia Business

Advertisement

Advertisement

Footer Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Footer Secondary Menu

  • Industries
  • Regions
  • Reports
  • Company News
  • Events

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Sign Up

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy

Footer Utility Menu

Copyright © 2023 Virginia Business. All rights reserved.

Site Maintained by TechArk