Volvo Construction Equipment is investing about US$260 million in crawler excavator production at sites in South Korea, Sweden and the USA as it tries to mitigate supply chain risks.
The Swedish manufacturer said growing customer demands were spurring capacity expansion.
It also wanted to localise production in key markets and cut long-distance logistics.
Most of the investment would go to the Changwon factory in South Korea.
“This investment underscores our commitment to quality, innovation and competence, allowing us to deliver even greater value,” said Volvo CE head, Melker Jernberg. “This expansion demonstrates our efforts to respond to customer demand by investing in our crawler excavator business closer to key markets and customers.”
The plan included upgrading the Changwon site in South Korea to secure global volumes and capabilities in Asia. A site in Sweden is still to be chosen. In the US, an existing factory in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, is to be upgraded.
Volvo CE is part of the Volvo auto-manufacturing group. It supplies equipment to the construction, infrastructure and mining markets.
