GOTEBORG, Sweden, April 8, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- On April 14, 2002, Volvo (Nasdaq:VOLVY) celebrates its 75th anniversary. On that day, it will be exactly 75 years since the first series-manufactured Volvo car, the Volvo OV4, rolled off the production line on the island of Hisingen, Gothenburg. Since then, Volvo has developed from a small local industry to one of the world's largest manufacturers of heavy trucks, buses and construction equipment, with more than 70,000 employees world wide and a presence in over 125 countries.
A Modest Start
Back in the 1920s, business conditions for the hundreds of car manufacturers around the world were far from favourable. The world economy was only just beginning to recover after the war. Many of the smaller independent car manufacturers could not make ends meet, and were forced out of business. However, Volvo's founders, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson were not to be deterred.
Determined to get a Swedish car industry under way, the two entrepreneurs, both of whom had backgrounds at the Swedish ball-bearing manufacturer, SKF, set to work. They would build their first cars according to a unique concept-simplicity rather than complexity, quality rather than low price, and a construction based on own components rather than purchased components.
Their efforts paid off. The first car, the OV4, came off the production line in Gothenburg, Western Sweden, in April 1927. However, the car was not a major success, as it was an open-roof model, and not ideal for the cold Swedish climate. Gabrielsson and Larson had more success with their first truck, the LV1, which left the factory a year later.
By the end of the 1920's, Volvo began exporting its vehicles, initially to Sweden's neighbouring country, Finland.
The 1930s - Volvo Continues to Grow
If Volvo got off to a modest start in the 1920s, it made up for it in the 1930s. One success followed the other, and the Volvo brand became known in places far away from the factory on the island of Hisingen in Gothenburg.
After the first passenger car from 1927 and the first truck in 1928, Volvo followed with a bus, the 'B1', which was presented in 1934. It received great acclaim, but sales never really took off. It was not until 1936, when Volvo introduced its new omnibus models, that sales volumes really began to increase.
After just a few years, Volvo had established itself as the leading truck brand in Sweden. Several thousand trucks were now being sold each year, and production capacity was gradually increased.
Probably the most important event during the 1930's for Volvo was its acquisition of the Penta plant in Skovde, Sweden, which was founded as far back as 1907. With Penta, Volvo gained control of both development, production and quality control of engines for all its products.
The 1940s - A New Start
For Volvo, the 1940s were, of course, very much influenced by the Second World War. Even while supplying the Swedish defence forces with vehicles and the civil population with wood gas generators, Volvo continued to look to the future, and to develop products which would provide post-war customers with top-class products.
Volvo continued to make strategic acquisitions during the 1940's. When it acquired Svenska Flygmotor (now known as Volvo Aero) in Trollhattan, north of Gothenburg, in 1941, Volvo gained access not only to a completely new range of products, but also to high technology competence which would be of great benefit to the other companies in the growing Volvo Group.
In the following year, 1942, Volvo took over Kopings Mekaniska Werkstad, thereby gaining control over its gearbox production as well as its engine production.
The biggest event of the 1940s for Volvo was without a doubt the Stockholm Fair in 1944. The new passenger car, the PV444 was introduced, along with the first diesel truck, the first diesel bus and the first tractor, a T41. All four products would ensure that Volvo was firmly placed as a leading vehicle manufacturer, not just in Sweden, but in the whole world.
Up until now, Volvo's success was mainly due to its commercial vehicle range, but the passenger car business was becoming more and more successful.
The 1950s
During the 1950s, Volvo reaped the benefits of the investments it had been making. A broadening range of new products continued to attract new groups of customers.
In 1950, it acquired Bolinder-Munktell (a company which dated back to 1832), an investment which would give a good return and which would turn Volvo into the "engine" of modernisation of Swedish agriculture.
Volvo/Bolinder-Munktell presented its first construction vehicle in 1954.
The revolutionary truck known as Titan (with turbo engine) and the L420 Snabbe (with a Volvo-designed front-driven steel cab and powerful V8 engine), along with the mid-engine bus B655 strengthened Volvo's dominance in the commercial vehicle segment. The PV445 Duett, P1200 Amazon and PV544 passenger cars met with immediate success both "at home" in Sweden and around the world, not least in North America, which would soon become the biggest passenger car market for Volvo.
The new truck factory 'Spetsbagen' on the island of Hisingen in Gothenburg (1953) provided the company with the production capacity it now desperately needed in order to supply the ever-increasing number of customers with commercial vehicles of high quality.
During the final years of the 1950's, Volvo Penta presented not only the unique, direct injection diesel engine, the MD1, but also the revolutionary Acquamatic. These products brought Volvo to the forefront of the marine engine industry.
During the 1950's, Volvo began to concentrate on improving the safety aspect of its vehicles. In 1959, Volvo became the first car manufacturer in the world to make 3-point seat belts a standard feature in all its passenger cars.
The 1960s
Before the Second World War, Volvo had manufactured largely for the Scandinavian markets. In the 1960's, Volvo decided it was time to expand its horizons further afield. In 1965, a truck and car assembly plant was opened in Gent, Belgium. Volvo began its global expansion in earnest, opening a new passenger car factory in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1968. During the following years, many more assembly plants would be opened in other locations around the world.
Production capacity at home, however, was also increased. In 1963-64 a new factory was opened in Gothenburg, in an area called Torslanda on the island of Hisingen. In the new factory, production of passenger cars and commercial vehicles was completely separate.
Product-wise, the 1960's saw several revolutionary years. The "System 8" truck range (1965), the new "B50 series" buses (1966) and the 144 passenger car (1966) were among the safest and most economical vehicles in their segments.
The 1970s
In the 1970s, Volvo' set about carrying its core values of quality, safety and care for the environment into not only its production facilities, but also its products.
The VESC, "Volvo Environmental Safety Car," and the F10/F12/Globetrotter truck series brought Volvo to the forefront in the areas of quality, safety and environment.
The 1980s
At the beginning of the 1980's, Volvo was essentially a European company with a certain amount of sales outside of Europe. However, during the 1980s, Volvo was to become truly global. With the acquisition of the US truck manufacturer, White Motor Corporation, and great progress in North America, South America, Asia and Australia, Volvo was slowly but surely becoming one of the world's leading truck manufacturers and a significant niche player in the passenger car business.
Some examples of comfortable, safe Volvo products from the 1980's were the 760GLE passenger car (1982), the C10M tourist bus (1984) and the FL6, FL7 and FL10 truck series (1985).
Volvo strengthened its position as a leading manufacturer of construction equipment when it joined forces with an American company to build Volvo Michigan Euclid. Today the company is known as Volvo Construction Equipment and is one of the major players in the construction equipment industry, with a broad range of products and dealers all over the world.
The 1990s
During the 1990s, Volvo's vehicle range became more and more modern, efficient and environmentally-friendly. Volvo continued to make strategic acquisitions in the both the construction equipment and bus chassis areas.
Examples of some of the new products launched during the 1990s were the new generation of trucks (FH12/FH16, VN, FM7/FM10/FM12, NH12, where all models shared a "global product platform," along with a wide range of busses with rear-mounted engines.
In 1998, Volvo launched the S80 passenger car to great acclaim. Shortly afterwards, in the spring of 1999, Volvo divested Volvo Car Corporation to the Ford Motor Company, claiming that Ford would be in a better position to provide VCC with the "significant investments required in both the development of new car generations and in distribution," and that VCC's future prospects would, by being an important part of one of the world's largest and most profitable automotive groups, improve considerably. Three years on, Volvo Cars is an integral part of the Premier Automotive Group within the Ford Motor Company, and has indeed gone from strength.
By the end of the 1990s, Volvo had established a strong foothold in Asia. Volvo trucks, buses and construction equipment were being assembled in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, to name but a few Volvo Construction had successfully completed the acquisition of Samsung of Korea, and the integration of the company into the Volvo group.
The New Millennium
Volvo began the new millennium by opening a new Volvo Penta plant for the assembly of diesel engines and generator-pacs in Wuxi, approximately 100 kilometres west of Shanghai in China on January 8, 2000.
At the end of the year 2000, Volvo acquired Renault Vehicules Industriels, the truck arm of Renault, as well as its US subsidiary, Mack Trucks, Inc. These acquisitions made Volvo Europe's largest and the world's second-largest manufacturer of heavy trucks.
In the spring of 2001, Mack introduced a new heavy-duty truck aimed for the vocational market, the Granite. In the autumn, Renault V.I. launched the new version of its long-distance Magnum truck, and at the end of the year, Volvo Truck Corporation introduced its new generation of the FH and FM truck, now with a 500 hp engine and a D12 with Turbo Compound. All three products have met with great success.
Volvo Buses has renewed almost its entire range, and has become a major player in the highly competitive market for top-of-the-range tourist buses.
In an industry which has seen major restructuring and consolidation, and the number of players reduced dramatically, today's Volvo Group is stronger than ever. With a broad range of not only vehicles, but also of "soft offer" products such as telematics systems, e-commerce solutions and new forms of financing, the Volvo Group is well on the way to achieving its vision, which is "To be considered as the world's leading supplier of commercial transport solutions."
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