Volvo CE goes all-electric at Operators Club Final

Earlier this month, equipment operators attended the Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) factory in Belley, France, for the annual Operators Club Final.

The participants had the opportunity to test drive the electric machines before the main event (Photo: Volvo CE)

This year marked the 25th-anniversary edition and saw 23 contestants representing Operators Club branches from Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, and Switzerland.

At this year’s event, Volvo CE took a different approach by only showcasing electric machines. The electric lineup included the EC18 Electric compact excavator, the L20 Electric compact wheel loader, the L25 Electric compact wheel loader, and the mid-sized EC230 Electric crawler excavator.

Robin Müller, a 29-year-old construction equipment business owner from Germany, secured the first place in the competition. Jonathan Legeard from France and Jorne Maebe from Belgium were close contenders for the top spot. 

In the grand final, the competitors used an EC18 Electric compact excavator to maneuver a water bucket from point A to B in the maze in the fastest time and filling a pipe until a table tennis ball falls out.

Hanna Jaschke, who is responsible for dealer marketing in Europe and the Operators Club at Volvo CE, said, “Each year, this competition challenges the best machine operators to push their precision and competence skills to the absolute limit.

“It was also exciting for the operators to get a deep dive into the Volvo electric technology and machines and for them to see how some of them are made at the factory in Belley. This was highly appreciated by the group.”

Thomas Bitter, head of Volvo CE’s new compact business unit, added, “We are thrilled to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Operators Club and to introduce an exciting twist this year with the exclusive use of electric machines, reaffirming our commitment to a sustainable future.”