This week, Volvo Group held its once-every-three-years “Volvo Days” occasion in Shippensburg, PA for the primary time because the pandemic, displaying off tons (actually!) of latest tools, new vans, 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 tools 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 corporations displaying off all their hottest ideas and forward-thinking new tasks. That’s yr 1. Yr 2 is often when reveals like Volvo Days usually happen, with producers rolling out the manufacturing variations of the ideas they confirmed at ConExpo and welcoming a mixture of sellers, end-users, and journalists in to check out a few of what acquired confirmed at ConExpo. Yr 3 is extra insular, with the producers bringing in salespeople to get them skilled on new merchandise and put together them for the way 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, in actual fact, because the 2021 occasion was canceled on account of 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 building tools historical past – acceptable, on condition 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 tools ballet that featured new electrical tools proven for the primary time in North America, in addition to the new-for-2025 Volvo VNL and Mack MD Electrical vans doing a little heavy lifting and hauling.
The present lasted nicely over thirty minutes, and it was unimaginable for me to maintain observe of every part that was occurring, however you may get a way of it within the video (above).
Compact electrical tools
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 tools area.
The most effective factor about Volvo Days, nevertheless, isn’t that they’ve fascinating autos on show – it’s the truth that practically each a kind of fascinating autos is obtainable to expertise first hand … together with the 30-ton EC230 Electrical excavator.
All the electrical excavators (even the mini) had been extremely clean and quiet, with noticeably fewer vibrations than their diesel counterparts … which we additionally acquired to play with.
That mentioned, I’m not a “actual” tools operator, which suggests my seat of the pants impressions are in all probability 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 trip.
“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 believe each municipality wants to check out that.”
Electrical compaction
Over on the compaction aspect, 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 preserving the remainder of the job web site’s battery-operated instruments operating all day lengthy, and even packed sufficient juice (in a pinch) to energy a transportable 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 mentioned, ‘It’s not one thing we’d advise,’ however you can inform he favored that query.”
Yeah, he did!
Electrek’s Take
Someplace across the twenty minute mark of the “tools ballet” present, one thing broke inside my mind. I believe it was the sparks flying off the bucket when the L20 Electrical scooped up a number of thousand kilos of gravel and sand at full velocity, 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 corporations are nonetheless creating the preliminary entries into the electrical business car area, Volvo has not only a full line of merchandise – however an increasing line of merchandise, with the corporate coming into new areas particularly due to the distinctive benefits electrical provides.
As Volvo’s North American President, Scott Younger, explains, the longer term is electrical, and Volvo’s imaginative and prescient for the longer term has the corporate firmly within the management place … however extra on that partly 2.
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