These products will in future be manufactured by Volvo’s Chinese company SDLG.
These developments form part of the Volvo Group’s efforts to improve profitability and reduce costs. The profitability of certain products was investigated. This review resulted in the decision to discontinue product development and production of backhoe loaders and motor graders in Europe and the Americas, and transfer these operations to its Chinese company SDLG. This will result in a workforce reduction of about 1,000 employees, the majority of which are in Poland, the US and Brazil. Volvo indicates that the technologically advanced and high-spec Volvo-branded backhoe loaders and motor graders have only addressed a small premium segment of the market. Volvo state that SDLG-branded backhoe loaders and motor graders will better serve customer demands in the large and growing value segment of the market.
Volvo’s motor graders are currently built at their production sites in Shippensburg, USA, and Pederneiras, Brazil. Backhoe loaders are manufactured in Pederneiras, Brazil, and Wroclaw, Poland. The termination of the production of backhoe loaders will result in the closure of Volvo’s operations in Wroclaw. All cost saving activities should be completed by the end of 2015. Source: www.volvo.com/constructionequipment