Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) hosted nearly a thousand customers and dealers at its North American headquarters this week in Shippensburg, Pa., for Volvo Days, showcasing dozens of new and existing products and offering networking, a dynamic machine show, factory tours and hands-on experience with machines and services.
Volvo Days is a customer event held every few years in Shippensburg. The 2024 event is showing customers how the OEM is growing its range of offerings in both conventional and electric power across the company’s extensive lineup.
“Providing an exceptional customer experience is something we’re focused on every day of the year, but Volvo Days gives us a special opportunity to celebrate our customers, strengthen relationships and allow people to talk with our experts and test-drive machines,” said Scott Young, head of Region North America, Volvo CE.
Several new products were introduced to the North American market this week, including the SD125 soil compactor, the R60 and R70 rigid haul trucks, the L120 electric mid-size wheel loader and new-generation EC230 electric mid-size excavator.
The event is also the first chance for many customers to have firsthand experience with the new series of Volvo excavators introduced earlier this summer. The series includes several mid-size and large models, with more to be introduced in the coming months, and represents the biggest update to the Volvo CE excavator lineup in two decades.
Volvo Days attendees commented on the power and responsiveness of the new excavators, as well as the cab updates.
“I like how they changed the seat and how you can drive with the dials on the joysticks. Everything is more comfortable for an operator who’s going to be in the machine for eight hours or more a day,” said Gavin Craig, an operator at Craig's Construction in Calhoun, Ga. “Volvo has the smoothest machines on the market. Others I’ve used are more jerky.”
Dalton Nokes, general superintendent at Garrett Excavating in northwest Arkansas, agreed.
“These excavators are very responsive and smooth — some of the fastest excavators I’ve ever run,” he said.
In all, more than 65 machines from across the Volvo CE product lineup were on display. There are also demonstrations of technology like machine control systems, advanced telematics, productivity services and site solutions.
“It’s critical that we give customers comprehensive solutions for their projects,” said Young. “And that means pairing the right machines with the right services to help them optimize their safety, productivity and uptime.”