Volvo breaks ground on Russian excavator factory

Volvo Construction Equipment has held the ground breaking ceremony for its new SEK 350 million (US$ 52 million) excavator factory in Kaluga, Russia.

The factory, some 150 km to the southwest of Moscow, will comprise a 20660 m2 manufacturing area on a 150,000 m2 plot. It will produce six excavator models, spanning the 20 to 48 tonne weight classes, with the first machines due to to come off the assembly line next year.

The ceremony was attended by governor of the Kaluga Region Anatoly Artamonov, president of Volvo Construction Equipment Pat Olney, and the head of Volvo CE's Russian dealer Ferronordic, Lars Corneliusson.

"This is a considerable investment and underscores Volvo's confidence in - and commitment to - the Russian economy," said Mr Olney. "Excavators are a key product in this rapidly developing market and customers in Russia have a high regard for the Volvo brand and for the fuel efficiency, reliability and performance of our machines. This investment also demonstrates our strategy of, where possible, manufacturing goods close to where our customers are located."

Carl Slotte, vice-president of Volvo's activities in northern Europe said, "This is the first completely new plant Volvo CE has built for quite a while. Starting with a clean sheet of paper gives us the opportunity to create an advanced manufacturing site that incorporates innovative technologies and designs. It will be built in close compliance with our performance and environmental requirements."

Volvo Construction Equipment has 16 plants worldwide. The Kaluga factory will be one of seven factories producing excavators.