Volvo Construction Equipment last week announced it will build a brand new paint shop at its Hallsberg, Sweden, plant, representing an investment of SEK 150 million (about U.S. $20.6 million). The new paint shop will result in improved quality, greater capacity, lower costs and a range of environmental benefits, including a reduction in solvent emissions by more than 50 percent. If all goes to plan, construction should begin by the end of the year, the company said.
Cab Division, which employs around 750 people in Hallsberg, develops and manufactures cabs — or "driver environments" as they are sometimes known — for Volvo CE's construction equipment.
Two of Cab Division's three Hallsberg paint shops will shortly reach the end of their useful life spans. The new paint shop will reduce both solvent and greenhouse gas emissions significantly in comparison with current levels. It will also have its own sewage works and will generate much smaller waste volumes. In addition, the paint shop will use less energy, and water discharges to the municipal sewage works will be more than halved, despite an increase in production volumes.
The new combined cabin, tank and bodypart paint shop will use the latest powder-coating and water-based primer technology and will be built next to the cab plant. Construction work is due to start this year, and the paint shop is expected to begin production at the start of 2008.
The third paint shop, which is located nearby, is used for painting cylinders and will not therefore be affected by this new investment.
Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Volvo Construction Equipment manufactures and markets equipment for construction and related industries.
