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 celebration with AEM’s visit was natural.
“We’re proud AEM members, so this is a great way to celebrate our employees’ contributions to the construction and manufacturing 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 that the appliance production industry and its employees have.
For more than 50 years, the Shippensburg plant has manufactured general-purpose highway structures and structural appliances, starting with compactors, which continue to be a priority. Proximity to Interstate 81, a primary production and distribution facility, and a highly professional worker base put the domain in the hands of the Volvo Group, which acquired it in 2007 as part of the acquisition of Ingersoll-Rand’s on-highway division. .
Volvo has made significant investments over the past 17 years, adding a $30 million investment in 200,000 square feet. In addition to the production of wheel loaders, soil compactors and asphalt compactors, the operations have a regional excavator that completes the medium and a Used Apparatus Reconstruction Center. It is the North American sales and marketing headquarters, a center for purchasing and supply management, and the design and engineering center for compaction apparatus.
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 apparatus for road structures and general goal structures, with compactors, which continue to be a priority. Volvo construction equipment
Volvo CE collaborates with Franklin County Career
“It’s an honor to work in such a storied place and 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 bring for our people and our industry.”
History of the Shippensburg Siege
1974: Construction equipment production begins with compaction products.
1980: 46,000 square feet. Complements 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. The largest is built.
1998: 21,000 feet cuadrados. la expansion provides more area for drum manufacturing.
2007: Volvo CE acquires the site from Ingersoll-Rand.
2010: A $30 million, 200,000-sq.-ft. factory expansion is completed.
2011: Sales and marketing for the Americas region moves on-site.
2013: The line of wheel loaders comes into operation.
2013: A new expansion is inaugurated.
2014: The Volvo Customer Experience Center opens.
2023: The Technical Training Center opens.
2024: Volvo and AEM celebrate 50 years of appliance production in Shippensburg.