Workers recently celebrated 50 years of history at a heavy equipment factory in Pennsylvania.
Ingersoll-Rand originally employed 50 workers at a factory in Shippensburg, Penn.; now Volvo Construction Equipment employs more than 650 people at the plant. The factory and its employees marked its 50-year anniversary on Sept. 12 and were joined by the AEM Manufacturing Express as part of its member tour.
Ingersoll-Rand employees 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 birthday party with the scale of the natural AEM.
“We are proud to be members of the AEM, so this is a wonderful way to celebrate the contributions of our workers to the structural and manufacturing sectors,” 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 be a part of this 50th anniversary birthday component alongside the network’s leaders and supporters,” said Megan Tanel, president of AEM. “This excursion has been a wonderful opportunity to tell the stories of others in our industry. ”
The AEM and Volvo teams invited local policymakers to the event to raise awareness of and support for bipartisan policies that support the equipment manufacturing industry and its employees.
For more than 50 years, the Shippensburg plant has manufactured devices for road structures and general goal structures, starting with compactors, which continue to be a priority. Proximity to Interstate 81, a major manufacturing 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, operations have a regional excavator that completes the medium and a device that reconstructs the medium moment. The facility is the North American sales and marketing headquarters, a purchasing and supply management center, and the design and engineering center for compaction equipment.
Volvo’s Customer Experience Centre and 40-acre test floor opened in 2014 and house a demonstration fleet of more than 70 aircraft spanning the company’s full 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 intermediaries and consumers annually.
Over the past 50 years, roadbuilding and general-purpose construction equipment has been manufactured at the Shippensburg factory beginning with compactors, which have remained a focus.Volvo Construction Equipment
Volvo CE participates with the Franklin County Career and Technology Center in an educational program for business personnel and has partnered with Shippensburg University for a new engineering program. The company employs approximately 50 interns each year and Penn State University is a valued educational site of the Volvo Group. Volvo CE also works with the national and Pennsylvania chapters of SkillsUSA for college, senior, and post-secondary academics and professionals enrolled in educational systems for trade, technical, and professional services occupations.
“It is an honor to paint in such a prestigious location and to continue sharing Volvo’s commitment to training, protection and sustainability with our community,” said Casagrandi. “I can’t wait to see what the next 50 years bring for our people. ” and our industry. “
History of the Shippensburg Siege
1974: Start of production of structural apparatus with compaction products.
1980: A 46,000-sq.-ft. expansion upgrades machining, fabrication and welding capabilities.
1988: A 38,000-square-foot building. Expansion of meeting space.
1992: A 54,000-foot expansion domain is again added to the meeting domain.
1993: The 49,000-sq.-ft. main office is built.
1998: 21,000 feet cuadrados. la expansion provides more area for drum manufacturing.
2007: Volvo CE acquires the Ingersoll-Rand facilities.
2010: $30 million, 200,000 feet. The plant expansion is completed.
2011: Sales and marketing from the Americas region move to the site.
2013: The line of wheel loaders comes into operation.
2013: A new office 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.