Diesel prices are down pretty much everywhere except, of course, here in Santa Barbara, where the assumption (probably not altogether without validity) is that there’s no sense changing the pump price mechanism or the signage when the price will be headed up again before we can say “four bucks.”
No matter, I spent a good part of last week in Miami, where Volvo used the in-port venue of the around-the-world Volvo Ocean Race event to speak to its North American audience about its sales, equipment, and investment achievements in our neck of the woods.
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Photo: Amory Ross
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Of particular interest to me, as editor of our Grading & Excavation Contractor as well as MSW Management magazines, was the announcement of the 111% year-over-year increase in first quarter 2012 revenues experienced by Volvo Construction Equipment in the North American Market. Added to this was the announcement of a $100 million investment in the expansion of the company’s Shippensburg, PA, facility to include the production of loaders, excavators, and articulated dump trucks, all of which have applicability in the waste management arena.
“Demand for construction equipment in North America jumped 35% during the first three months of the year,” said P resident and CEO of Volvo Construction Equipment Pat Olney at a press conference attended by journalists from around the globe. “This shows us that the recovery that began last year is gathering pace and that our earlier forecast of a 15% to 25% year-on-year improvement for 2012 is attainable.”
Olney and others from the company went to lengths to detail Volvo’s efforts in achieving greater levels in efficiency, emissions reduction, and sustainability resulting in large part to its Tier 4i engine offerings. Added to this are the company’s R&D programs in the area of alternative fuels use.
Moreover, I was pleased by the announcement of an operator-training program already in place in Europe and slated for introduction here shortly that recognizes the impact that operator activities—good and bad—have on fuel use and the bottom lines of both the financial and environmental balance sheets.
I would, however, be remiss if I did not say something about the event that drew me along with Volvo’s top officials to Miami, the aforementioned Volvo Ocean Race, where a half-dozen super sailing craft and crews representing 15 nations reached the three-quarters mark in a 8-month, 39,000-mile challenge that began at Alicante, Spain, this past October. Following stops in Cape Town, AbuDhabi, Sanya, Auckland, Atjai, Miami, and Lorient, the race will end at Galway, Ireland.
While the winner’s trophy and Champagne go to the boat that crosses the line first, the real reward will be shared by all those who put their lives on the line in this, the most grueling of sporting adventures. Were 40-foot waves, 60-knot winds, boiling temperatures, icebergs, and high-speed tankers not enough to keep the crews on edge, after departing Cape Town on the third leg of the race, the boats had to be transported by freighter to avoid pirate infested waters along the African Coast.
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| Photo: Volvo Ocean Race
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