Volvo president stresses technology focus

Olof Persson, the president and chief executive of Volvo Construction Equipment says the company is focusing on developing new technologies, despite the difficult market conditions.

Speaking exclusively to CE at the Intermat exhibition, Mr Persson said, "My focus is not simply on managing the downturn. My other focus is the technological development around our core values. Fuel efficiency is one of the key areas, as are soft products."

Regarding the forthcoming Stage IIIB/Tier 4 engine emission regulations, Mr Persson said, "We are on track in the development and I'm sure we'll have a very good and competitive solution."

Volvo has also developed a hybrid wheeled loader, which was first shown to the public at last March's ConExpo exhibition in Las Vegas, US. "Our plan is to have hybrid machines with customers for field testing this year. The hybrid technology gives us a lot of opportunities in different products," said Mr Persson.

Another key area for Volvo is the road building market, following the company's acquisition of Ingersoll Rand's road building equipment division in 2007. Commenting on this business, Mr Persson said, "I'm very please with the integration of Ingersoll Rand into Volvo. It is very important because were seeing the stimulus packages coming around the world and they're very focused on infrastructure and road building."