Kaluga factory opening gives cause for great optimism

On January 19th Volvo Trucks become the first foreign manufacturer to start full scale commercial vehicle production in Russia – a fact marked by a special launch ceremony attended by nearly 900 visitors including regional and federal authority officials, existing Volvo customers, partners, media representatives and special guests at the plant in Kaluga, 200 kilometres south-west of Moscow.

Prior to the ceremony the guests were guided through the Volvo production facility, where they got the possibility to learn more about the basic principles of plant operation, the production process and to see the assembly lines in action.

Lars Corneliusson, Managing Director, Volvo Trucks Russia opened the ceremony with a welcome speech paying tribute to the work of the staff in getting the Plant up and running so quickly. He said, "It was a little more than a year ago that we had the Ground Breaking Ceremony for the Volvo plant and you can now witness the result of this work as Volvo has become the first foreign truck manufacturer to start full scale production in Russia.”

Georgy Poltavchenko, the Russian Presidential Envoy to the Central Federal District., Anatoly Artamonov, Governor of Kaluga Oblast (Region), Tomas Bertelman, the Swedish Ambassador to the Russian Federation, and other several other officials added their good wishes for the future of the plant.

In addition, a telegram of congratulations from Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, was also read out.

Concluding the ceremony, Staffan Jufors, President of Volvo Truck Corporation, said, “In spite of the global downturn, we see the future in a positive light. We foresee long-term growth in Russian transport needs and Volvo Trucks will now be in a strong position to benefit. We are leaders in quality, safety and fuel-efficiency and we also lead the way in our work for a better environment.”

He added, “The establishment of the factory in Kaluga has gone very smoothly, for which we are very grateful to the great support we received from the Governor and the administration in the Kaluga region."

After the symbolic countdown of 11,500 hours since work began on October 15th 2007 reached zero, the guests were treated to a water and laser show. At its conclusion a Volvo FH Globetrotter truck - the first truck assembled in Kaluga - appeared to great applause, driven by Jens Holtinger, Volvo’s Plant Director. The event concluded with a gala dinner and a concert by rock band Chai-F.

The Volvo Group is making long term strategic investments in Russia – both in the service and retail network and now by its industrial presence.

Volvo Trucks’ first plant in Russia was established six years ago in Zelenograd, outside Moscow providing CKD-production. However demand soon outstripped its capacity and the new plant south-west of Moscow will produce trucks for Russia and neighbouring markets within the CIS-region.

The new factory will enable Volvo Trucks to take advantage of new custom duty levels that were introduced on January 12th this year. Depending on the type of truck, custom duties can vary between 5 and 25 per cent.

Production will start with low volumes in order to adjust and ‘fine-tune’ the production process. Production volumes will then gradually be increased according to market demand, with Volvo’s Swedish component factories providing the cabs, drivelines and gearboxes.