GOTEBORG, Sweden, April 14, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The first Volvo Excavator built in the new Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) factory in China left the production line last week and was today delivered to the customer, ZheJiang YuZhong Construction Group, a supplier who is involved in the new Formula One racing track project in Shanghai.
As more and more construction projects emerge in China, the demand for excavators with diversified functions is growing rapidly. China has over the last few years become one of the biggest markets for excavators, with sales of more than 17,000 units during 2002. The forecast is that the market will continue to grow.
To be able to meet the demand, Volvo announced last year the establishment of wholly owned company and production facility based on 70,000 m2 of land in Shanghai's Pudong new area.
For an investment of around $15 M US Volvo will have a production capacity of a couple of thousand units per year. Initial production will focus on the recently launched 20 ton class B series crawler excavator developed at Volvo CE's global center for excavators in Korea.
"Today's delivery from our new factory in China is a milestone in our company history and our people have done a remarkable job to get production up and running in less than a year," said Tony Helsham, President and CEO of Volvo CE.
On the Sales and Marketing side, Volvo CE has 5 branches and 12 dealers in China today. This distribution and service network will increase to 8 branches and 20 dealers to cover the whole of China during 2003.
For further information, please contact: Klas Magnusson, Corporate Communications Tel: +32 2 482 5065, Mobile: +32 475 576214
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