This week, Volvo Group held its once-every-three-years “Volvo Days” occasion in Shippensburg, PA for the primary time because the pandemic, exhibiting off tons (actually!) of latest gear, new vehicles, and new ideas – together with a few “world’s first” debuts.
What’s Volvo Days? Which may require a little bit of background …
The heavy gear world operates on one thing of a three-year cycle. ConExpo, the business’s largest commerce present, occurs each three years. That units the tone, with firms exhibiting off all their hottest ideas and forward-thinking new initiatives. That’s yr 1. 12 months 2 is usually when reveals like Volvo Days usually happen, with producers rolling out the manufacturing variations of the ideas they confirmed at ConExpo and alluring a mixture of sellers, end-users, and journalists in to check out a few of what obtained confirmed at ConExpo. 12 months 3 is extra insular, with the producers bringing in salespeople to get them educated on new merchandise and put together them for learn how to discuss what the corporate is planning to point out at subsequent yr’s ConExpo.
ConExpo was final yr, so this yr we get Volvo Days – for the primary time since 2018, the truth is, because the 2021 occasion was canceled attributable to COVID. That makes this the primary Volvo Days in six years … and expectations had been excessive.
The kickoff
Volvo kicked off the week’s occasions with a drone show highlighting the corporate’s development gear historical past – applicable, provided that the occasion was held at Volvo CE’s Pennsylvania engineering and manufacturing campus. The drone present was adopted by a genuinely spectacular, extremely choreographed gear ballet that featured new electrical gear proven for the primary time in North America, in addition to the new-for-2025 Volvo VNL and Mack MD Electrical vehicles performing some heavy lifting and hauling.
The present lasted effectively over thirty minutes, and it was not possible for me to maintain observe of every part that was occurring, however you will get a way of it within the video (above).
Compact electrical gear
Volvo had its new, in-production L20/120 Electrical wheel loader and ECR25 Electrical excavator entrance and middle in its reception middle, together with data highlighting their aggressive benefits within the compact gear area.
The most effective factor about Volvo Days, nonetheless, isn’t that they’ve attention-grabbing automobiles on show – it’s the truth that almost each a type of attention-grabbing automobiles is offered to expertise first hand … together with the 30-ton EC230 Electrical excavator.
All the electrical excavators (even the mini) had been extremely easy and quiet, with noticeably fewer vibrations than their diesel counterparts … which we additionally obtained to play with.
That stated, I’m not a “actual” gear operator, which suggests my seat of the pants impressions are most likely value lower than these of the individuals who use this stuff every single day. That’s why I used to be glad to have Mike Switzer, my co-host on The Heavy Gear Podcast, alongside for the experience.
“It’s actually spectacular, and the articulation on the Steelwrist is unimaginable,” Mike advised me, after hopping out of the demo EC230. “I’ve seen it earlier than, clearly, however I’ve by no means had an opportunity to make use of it. I feel each municipality wants to try that.”
Electrical compaction
Over on the compaction facet, Volvo had its DD25 Electrical vibrating drum compactor on show – the place the all-electric tandem curler was joined by two all-new siblings being proven off for the primary time ever: a pre-production DD15 Electrical “mini” compactor prototype seemingly designed for sidewalks and driveways, and the TC13 Electrical trench compactor.
The TC13 Electrical is designed as a walk-behind unit that makes use of its heavy batteries to supply the compaction mass – however these heavy batteries gained’t get depleted within the hour or so of operation that almost all trench compactors see on a busy day. To maintain the little TC13 helpful all through the day, Volvo gave it a pair of 110 and 220V retailers.
Specs weren’t launched, however Volvo’s compaction model supervisor claimed these retailers had been greater than able to retaining the remainder of the job website’s battery-operated instruments working all day lengthy, and even packed sufficient juice (in a pinch) to energy a conveyable workplace, desk noticed, or drill press.
“Did you see his face once I requested if it might run an arc welder?” requested Mike, smiling. “He stated, ‘It’s not one thing we’d advise,’ however you possibly can inform he favored that query.”
Yeah, he did!
Electrek’s Take
Someplace across the twenty minute mark of the “gear ballet” present, one thing broke inside my mind. I feel it was the sparks flying off the bucket when the L20 Electrical scooped up just a few thousand kilos of gravel and sand at full pace, scraping its bucket alongside the bottom. Possibly it was the hydrogen-powered articulated loader, or the open bar.
Regardless, one factor that was made very clear at Volvo Days ’24 is that, whereas different firms are nonetheless growing the preliminary entries into the electrical business automobile area, Volvo has not only a full line of merchandise – however an increasing line of merchandise, with the corporate getting into new areas particularly due to the distinctive benefits electrical affords.
As Volvo’s North American President, Scott Younger, explains, the long run is electrical, and Volvo’s imaginative and prescient for the long run has the corporate firmly within the management place … however extra on that partly 2.
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