Workers recently celebrated the 50-year history of a heavy appliance plant in Pennsylvania.
Ingersoll-Rand hired 50 people at a factory in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania; Today, Volvo Construction Equipment employs more than 650 people at the factory. The factory and its staff celebrated its 50th anniversary on September 12 and were joined by AEM Manufacturing Express as part of its members’ tour.
Ingersoll-Rand workers circa 1974. Volvo Construction Equipment
According to Volvo CE:
Staff gathered to celebrate the milestone Thursday with an AEM Manufacturing Express bus tour. The festivities included a barbecue, backyard games and the sharing of stories from decades past.
“We have heavily invested in our facilities, our people and our services here in Shippensburg. The work done at this site has a significant impact on our customers, our industry and the local community,” said Gustavo Casagrandi, head of operations at the site. “It’s rewarding to gather today to reflect on all of that.”
Combining this celebration with AEM’s visit was natural.
“We are proud to be a member of the AEM, so this is a wonderful way to celebrate the contributions of our workers to the structure and production industries,” said Casagrandi.
The “AEM Manufacturing Express” is an interactive cellular tour that visits 80 member brands in 20 states. It is the largest public engagement initiative in the association’s history, designed to celebrate America’s appliance manufacturing industry and the 2. 3 million employees who “build, power and feed the world. “
“We are thrilled to participate in this 50th anniversary birthday party alongside the network’s leaders and supporters,” said Megan Tanel, president of AEM. “This excursion has been a glorious opportunity to tell the stories of others in our industry. “
The AEM and Volvo groups invited local policymakers to the occasion to raise awareness of the bipartisan policies of the appliance manufacturing industry and its employees.
For more than 50 years, the Shippensburg plant has manufactured highway structures and road structures in general, starting with compactors, which remain a priority. Proximity to Interstate 81, a major production and distribution facility, and a highly professional worker base made the sector attractive to the Volvo Group, which acquired it in 2007 as part of the acquisition of Ingersoll’s highway traffic department. Rand.
Volvo has made significant investments over the past 17 years, adding a $30 million investment in 200,000 square feet. expanding its operational footprint in 2010. In addition to generating wheel loaders, soil compactors and asphalt compactors, the operations have a regional excavator that completes the medium and an apparatus that reconstructs the mean moment. The facility is the headquarters for North American sales and marketing, a purchasing and supply management center, and the center for compaction equipment design and engineering.
Volvo’s Customer Experience Center and 40-acre test floor opened in 2014 and is home to a demonstration fleet of more than 70 devices spanning the company’s entire product range. In 2023, a wing of the technical education center added device maintenance bays and study rooms where intermediary technicians and sales groups can learn about Volvo’s newest devices and technologies, adding electrical appliances. The site welcomes more than 10,000 Volvo CE brokers and consumers annually.
For more than 50 years, the Shippensburg plant has manufactured equipment for road structures and general goal structures, starting with compactors, which continue to be the focus of our attention. Volvo Construction Equipment
Volvo CE collaborates with the Franklin County Career & Technology Center on a training program for industrial workers and has partnered with Shippensburg University to support a new engineering program. The company employs about 50 interns each year, and Penn State University is an Academic Preferred Partner of the Volvo Group. Volvo CE also works with the National and Pennsylvania chapters of SkillsUSA to support middle school, high school and post-secondary students and professionals enrolled in training programs for trade, technical and skilled service occupations.
“It is an honor to work in such a prestigious location and to continue sharing Volvo’s commitment to training, safety and sustainability with our community,” said Casagrandi. “I can’t wait to see what the next 50 years will bring for our people and our industry. »
Shippensburg Site History
1974: Construction equipment production begins with compaction products.
1980: 46,000 square feet. Improves machining, fabrication and welding capabilities.
1988: A 38,000-foot apartment. The expansion increases meeting space.
1992: A domain of 54,000 feet. Expansion backrest increases meeting space.
1993: The 49,000 sq. ft. The largest is built.
1998: 21,000 feet cuadrados. la expansion provides more area for drum manufacturing.
2007: Volvo CE buys the Ingersoll-Rand facility.
2010: $30 million, 200,000 feet. The expansion of the factory is completed.
2011: Sales and marketing for the Americas region move to the site.
2013: The wheel loader production line begins operation.
2013: A new expansion is inaugurated.
2014: Volvo Customer Experience Center opened.
2023: The Technical Training Center opens.
2024: Volvo and AEM celebrate 50 years of appliance production in Shippensburg.