June 27, 2002 Miles Ahead

Volume 5 | Issue 4

Volvo Trucks North America continues to lead the heavy-duty truck industry in its commitment to safety, quality, and durability. Join April

The Volvo name is well-recognized in the country and around the world as an automotive leader in quality, safety, durability, style, and engine power. That solid reputation thrives in the broad line of Class 8 trucks and tractors manufactured by Volvo Trucks North America, headquartered in Greensboro, NC. Volvo Trucks North America leads the industry in areas of safety research and development, quality manufacturing process, and environmental care.Volvo has been serving the truck transportation industry since 1928. It built its reputation by listening to its customers and by understanding the challenging environments in which its customers’ trucks and trailers must perform. The challenge for the company, it says, is to continue to build trucks that meet the rigorous demands of its customers’ applications, while offering drivers comfort and safety. Volvo has continued to meet these challenges year after year and generation after generation by asking customers how it can serve them better – and this has paid off well for both Volvo and Volvo truck and trailer drivers and owners.

Highway-Tough; Driver-Safe

With the backing and resources of the Volvo Group and its 165 years of technical and industrial expertise, Volvo Construction Equipment offers vehicles for every possible application in the construction industry, including more than 130 models of excavators, wheel loaders, motor graders, articulated haulers, wheel excavators, compact excavators, and compact wheel loaders.
Safety is synonymous with the Volvo name – not only in the truck and trailer industry, but in the vehicular industry in general. Volvo Trucks builds in many safety features so truck drivers can rest assured and focus on more important things in their daily lives – like getting the job done and getting it done well.

Volvo Trucks cares about protecting the drivers of its trucks and tractors as much as it cares about protecting drivers’ investments. The company subjects cabs of its VN and VHD Series trucks and tractors to a series of rigorous safety testing, including the Swedish Impact Test, the most severe cab-strength test in the world. Other safety features include daytime running lights, ABS brakes (standard on the VN Series of trucks), airbags (standard on the VN Sleepers), and available smoke detectors.

It’s been estimated that typical long-haul truck owner-operators are on the road about 208 days every year. That’s a lot of time spent in a cab and no one understands the loneliness of the long-distance hauler better than Volvo Trucks. The VN Series helps drivers get where they need to go safely, comfortably and reliably.

When truckers need a heavy-duty hauler that’s also a lightweight sleeper, they choose Volvo Truck’s VN 420 – the perfect choice for regional bulk-haul applications. Equipped with standard ABS brakes, it boasts a roomy interior stretching 74 inches from the windshield to the back of the cab. Its efficient use of interior space offers three overhead storage compartments, as well and under-the-bunk storage.

The VN 610 is a premium over-the-road tractor sleeper cab offering an optional double bunk, storage space, pull-out worktable, and cable TV hookup. Its wide-stance cab air suspension and optimized steering geometry ensures nimble responsiveness and handling.

The VN 660 is a premium over-the-road tractor offering both comfort and performance at an affordable price. Aerodynamic and fuel-efficient, it offers lots of comforts of home on the open road such as an entertainment center, TV and stereo system with six speakers. And for those late-night or early-morning snacks, there is a microwave, refrigerator and freezer.

Volvo Truck’s VN 770 is the industry’s premium sleeper offering more than 50 square feet of living area under an eight-foot-high ceiling. This model is taller, wider, and deeper than other cabs on the market and has all the homey amenities, such as an oversized bunk, a kitchen equipped with a built-in refrigerator and freezer, and plug-in capabilities and a mounting location for a microwave and the proverbial kitchen sink.

For customers looking for a vehicle with versatility and long service life for their short daily runs, the VNM Day Cab it the perfect choice. It offers fuel-efficient performance, whether those runs are in the city or the town and its 50-degree wheel cut and industry-best 23-foot turn radius can almost turn on a dime. This model is the largest non-sleeper cab the industry has to offer, delivering more head room, more width, and more depth for the driver’s comfort.

Work Horse(power)

Known for carefully listening to what their customers want in a strong, dependable heavy-duty truck, Volvo Trucks responds with its VHD vocational work trucks. Built from the strongest components available in the industry, and designed for easy serviceability and with truck operators in mind, the VHD is well suited for construction, refuse, and other vocational industries.

In partnership with London Machinery of London, Ontario, Volvo Trucks offers high-performance, rear-discharge mixers designed especially for work on highway construction sites. These vehicles are equipped with a standard three-axle mixer and a heavy-duty, boost-a-load mixer.

In March 2002, Volvo Trucks North America became the first heavy-duty manufacturer to develop and market a fully integrated, affordable two-way vehicle communications system. Called Volvo Link(tm), the system will allow owner-operators of small and mid-sized fleets affordable access to the communications technology that will keep their businesses competitive and growing.
Volvo Trucks operates seven field offices in North America, four parts distribution centers (Ohio, Tennessee, California, and Ontario, Canada) and an engineering and technical center at its Greensboro, NC, location. The company’s two assembly plants are located in Dublin, Va, for truck assembly, and in Salem, Va. for engine final assembly. Manufacturing and product design facilities are ISO 9001-certified, assuring customers of exceptional quality process in the heavy-truck industry.

The company’s recent acquisition of Renault V.I. and Mack Trucks will lead to some interesting synergistic creations, allowing Volvo Trucks to take advantage of the benefits of each of these leading truck manufacturers.

Subscribe to Industry Today