Volvo to Hire More to Meet Increasing Demand
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Volvo Trucks is so confident the North American Class 8 market is growing that the original equipment manufacturer is hiring 200 more employees at its Dublin, Va., assembly plant.
Göran Nyberg, president of Volvo’s North American sales and marketing, said that while 2013 industrywide North American sales dipped from the previous year, they should return this year to about the 2012 level of 250,000 big trucks. Nyberg made his remarks March 27, the first day of the Mid-America Trucking Show here.
The OEM currently employs about 2,350 in Dublin, and the new hires are supposed to start by the end of June.
Nyberg spoke of his engineers lacquering numerous small technological changes, one on top the other, to create less heavy, more fuel-efficient, more mechanically efficient and durable trucks to tempt fleet operators to buy. He said medium-size regional carriers and owner-operators appear to be returning to the market.
Compressed natural gas is the most vibrant component of Volvo’s alternative fuels trio. Liquefied natural gas is scheduled to enter limited production by the end of next year.
Dimethyl ether-powered vehicles still look promising, but North American tests are still in an early stage.
