Volvo truck plant in Virginia to get $400 million upgrade

[kscarbel2]

Truck News  /  June 28, 2019

GREENSBORO, North Carolina — Volvo Group will invest $400 million over six years to upgrade the New River Valley (NRV), Virginia, plant that produces all Volvo trucks sold in North America, the Swedish company announced on Friday.

The plan includes expansion of the industrial footprint and installation of a variety of state-of-the-art equipment that will improve plant efficiency and deliver even higher product quality for customers, it said.

The investment will create 777 new jobs.

“The outstanding product line currently produced at NRV has strongly positioned Volvo Trucks for the future,” said Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA).

“This investment is another sign of our confidence in that future, and will help us prepare for even more exciting products – powered by both diesel and electric drivetrains – in the coming years.”

The expansion will be eligible for a Virginia Major Employment and Investment grant of up to $16.5 million and other incentives, the company said.

Virginia’s Pulaski County will support the project by giving Volvo 222 acres of adjacent property to expand the truckmaker's plant, and also donating $500,000 toward site improvements.

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[kscarbel2]

Why new Volvo jobs will 'transform' Pulaski County

Tommy Lopez, WSIS 10  /  July 1, 2019

Plus, the 5 reasons why one expert believes Volvo chose Dublin

PULASKI, Va. - Pulaski County will be “transformed.” That’s what local leaders are saying after Volvo announced on Friday that it’s bringing 777 more jobs to its Dublin plant, investing $400 million.

Economic impact
Local leaders said the county is going grow immensely as a result of the investment. County administrator Jonathan Sweet said the new Volvo employees will earn a combined $40 million and the new jobs at Volvo will create 2,000 other jobs that will support the plant.

“It's so impactful and, quite frankly, it's transformative,” Sweet said.

Local leaders say this kind of advanced manufacturing has the highest multiplier effect compared to other industries, meaning its impact is even greater on other industries, infrastructure, housing and much more.

Leaders know they need everything from more housing to new shopping centers and are making plans to expand.

The county is using this big win to try to attract investments in other sectors, like technology, and it’s taking advantage of the prepared graduates from Virginia Tech, Radford and the community college system.

“It's exciting to see the access Pulaski County has into talent,” Sweet said.

Earlier this month, the county passed a program so every high school graduate can go to New River Community College for free.

Why Virginia won
Economic development expert John Boyd, who owns a consulting firm, said Virginia is creating the playbook for how states win over companies for investment. He said the commonwealth has five key factors that it emphasizes that allow it to stand out:

-Right-to-work status
-Low cost of doing business
-Incentives
-Tax structure 
-Workforce training

“It really cements this as a center of gravity for the trucking industry. Very exciting news,” Boyd said.

He believes the investment fits into Volvo’s plan to cater to the needs of companies like Amazon, FedEx and UPS, which rely on last-mile truck deliveries. He also thinks this paves the way for a focus on emerging technology, like self-driving capabilities.

“Because of that, truck production is a growth sector. It's a highly-coveted sector within the context of advanced manufacturing,” Boyd said.

He said locations in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley and in Greensboro, North Carolina, made strong cases to beat out Dublin for the Volvo expansion.

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[DailyDiesel]

I would say having an existing factory in place was the biggest reason Volvo decided to expand but hey, what do I know.

[kscarbel2]

What I see is Virginia is giving the Swedish foreign aggressor 222 acres of land, and US$500,000.

The Virginia taxpayer had no say in the matter (how's that for democracy in the country with a  "government of the people, by the people, for the people"?).

I say, if you want to come profit in our country, you need to pay for it ("If you want to play, you have to pay").

[Maxidyne]

This is pretty typical of the southern states getting into bidding wars for auto and truck plants- For example, Kentucky paid around a million $$$ a job to lure Toyota. Looks like Virginia got a better deal, but only if all those jobs actually materialize, which with Volvo's dwindling market share is iffy...

[j hancock]

Solving the cup issue would be a really swell use of the money. 

Nothing says quality more than having no trucks in the service bay with the top end of the motor apart.