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DUBLIN, Va. – Volvo Trucks North America began operating Plant 2 at New River Valley Manufacturing Facility in its entirety on June 21.
Jeffrey McCall, director for cab factory operations, said that until the day a group of reporters visited Plant 2, sections of cab facility, which were added as part a $400 million renovation of the New River Valley Complex, had only been tested individually.
The plant is where the cabs for the redesigned Class 8 VNL flagship tractor — which was launched in January — were built. It’s a 350,000 square-foot building, McCall said. “It’s like the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory.”
VTNA opened its order book for VNL in April. The first deliveries will begin in the fourth quarter.
Plant 2 is the most automatized plant in Volvo Trucks’ global operations and operates with 40-50 staff per shift.
The cabs for the redesigned flagship Class 8 VNL tractors are built at VTNA’s New River Valley Manufacturing facility, Plant 2. (Volvo Trucks North America)
Transport Topics, along with other members of North American trucking media, visited the plant.
VTNA redesigned every square inch of Plant 1, according to Inspiration/Communications Manager Marcus Thompson, VTNA completely flipped the cab assembly sequence.
TBT: Last week, I drove a VNL semi at the redesigned @VolvoTrucksNA Dublin test track for the first time! Hats off to the professional drivers! pic.twitter.com/wiL2BszBaf — Keiron Greenhalgh (@kginalex) June 27, 2024
As a result, the legacy factory will also get its first robots, for roof bonding and windshield installation, as well as engine installation.
Both the legacy VNL and the redesigned VNL is being built at the moment on the same production line. VNL cabs, unlike before the redesign, are now built without doors. The doors are attached at the back of the VNL cabs during assembly. This makes it easier for workers to do their jobs.
Plant 1 has two shifts for assembly, while the body-in-white segment of the plant is three shifts. The BIW segment is responsible for welding the frame. Each assembly technician at Plant 1 has five minutes and twenty seconds to complete his or her part of the building process.
In 2022, one year after the VNR Electric production began in New River Valley, a revamped section of the facility with a body in white was opened. The VNR series highway tractor and VHD Trucks are also currently being produced at the complex.
New River Valley will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2025. Volvo purchased the plant in 1981 after the original owner White Motors filed for bankruptcy protection. The first Volvo trucks rolled off the production line on September 22, 1982. The 566-acre facility has 2.1 millions square feet of space under its roof.
The Volvo Group, the parent company, invested $400 million in New River Valley. This included a upgrade of the customer centre that opened in 2017 as well as an expansion of its test track.
Transport Topics reporters drove several configurations of the VNL tractor with a trailer attached around the now 3-mile-long track a day prior to touring the manufacturing facility.
The track has been redesigned to include an uphill section that will test the torque of the tractor. Then, a downhill segment follows. This allows drivers – many of whom are potential customers – testing trucks to activate the downhill cruise control.
VTNA offers a variety of options for drivers to choose from, including downhill cruise control.
VTNA has also introduced two new options to its Volvo Dynamic Steering Package on the redesigned VNL. These are VDS with active driving assistance and VDS oversteering guidance.