Officials including Tim Watters of Hoffman Equipment, U.S. Rep. John Joyce and Volvo CE Acting President Scott Young cut the ribbon to open the training center.
Volvo Construction Equipment officially opened its new technical training center in Shippensburg, Pa., on Aug. 18.
The $7.3 million facility will be a training hub of expertise and innovation for Volvo CE dealer service technicians on diesel and electric heavy equipment, machine control technology, connectivity and productivity services, and more. It includes in-person classrooms, virtual labs and three service bays that can accommodate the company's largest machines, including the L350H wheel loader, A60H articulated hauler and R100 rigid hauler, allowing those trainings to occur inside year-round.
"I'm proud to work for a company that invests in not only the equipment and technology of the construction industry's future, but also the North American workforce," said Scott Young, acting president of Region North America, Volvo CE. "The technicians who come through this training center will be prepared for a more climate-friendly and connected future, supporting our customers in this fast-changing industry."
Volvo CE offers training to dealer service and sales teams from across the United States and Canada. This includes three levels of technical certifications for maintenance, diagnostics and repair of Volvo equipment, plus a new certification to perform commissioning and decommissioning of Volvo electric machines.
The new center doubles the number of students that can be trained in a year, compared to its former off-site location. It also will provide hands-on and virtual trainings to Volvo employees globally. It also was announced that the Customer and Training Center received a 100 percent certified landfill-free certification by Volvo Group North America.
Tim Watters, president and CEO of Hoffman Equipment and Volvo CE dealer advisory council president, underlined the impact of the investment.
"The need for expertly trained service techs cannot be overstated, as they are the critical link to ensure maximum customer uptime. This new center has the capacity and knowledge bank to keep our teams at the leading edge of equipment service technology," he said.
The training center includes service bays that can accommodate all machine sizes.
Federal, state and local legislators and members from area business and education communities took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
"Volvo Construction Equipment's commitment to create a multimillion-dollar Technical Training Center in Shippensburg will strengthen our local economy and provide important training to the next generation of technicians working here in Pennsylvania and across North America," said U.S. Rep. John Joyce.
U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr. was unable to attend but shared, "When we lift up American workers, we can outcompete anyone in the world. That requires investing in our workforce to ensure they can win in a rapidly changing economy. With this new world-class training center in south central Pennsylvania, Volvo will have capacity to double its enrollment to more than 500 students per year and train skilled Pennsylvania workers for good-paying jobs."
Volvo also is exploring collaboration with local high school and career and technology centers to provide heavy equipment technology training and mentorship opportunities.
The 20,000-sq.-ft. training wing is an extension of the Volvo CE Customer Center and doubles the overall building's size. Design and construction work was led by Pennsylvania-based companies: site design by Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc. (HRG), architecture and engineering by NUTEC and construction by Waynesboro Construction.
For more information, visit www.volvoce.com.
A look inside one of the classrooms in the new training center.
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