Volvo brings production line from Mexico to Brazil

The year 2013 promises to be of reinforcement in the Volvo Construction Equipment position Latin America, in Brazil. After registering growth in sales in the region in 2012 for the third consecutive year, the Volvo Group subsidiary announced the transfer of its production line of backhoe loaders from Mexico to the Pederneiras (São Paulo).
"The decision is part of the strategy of concentrating production to gain scale and expand our customer base," said Roza Chueire, President of the Latin America Division, which first participated in a briefing since taking last November. Currently, the interior of São Paulo, leaving products exported to the United States, Latin America, Asia and Europe.
With this, the expectation is that the new line starts running at full steam in January 2014 and produce from 4 to 7 units per day. From the change, only Brazil and Poland will have factories of this equipment. The line will manufacture the BL60B and BL70B models, the most sold by the company in the Americas. Thus, the plant of Mexico, located in Tultitlán, near Mexico City, will keep only the Assembly line by bus.
Also in Pederneiras, the company installed a factory for the production of excavators SDLG brand in Brazil. "We want to take advantage of the synergy with the already installed plant and make our base in the city, even stronger for export," said Chueire.
Geared toward an audience that simpler equipment demand and reduced cost, the Chinese brand went on to act in the Brazilian market after 2006, from a joint venture between Volvo and SDLG, with imported products. The initial investment in the production line was $ 10 million and the forecast is that the production has already started in the second half.
Chueire explains that the group will meet the two main construction market niches. "Those who require high-precision machines and embedded technology have Volvo and those who need low-cost, without giving up quality have SDLG."
The company expects an increase in sales for this season, between 3% and 5%. For Chueire, the market should follow more competitive. In 2012, the company's sales grew for the third consecutive year in Latin America, with more than 4 thousand units. "The market has confirmed our sales expectations," he said.
Last year, the company sold construction equipment 4,244, with 67% of this volume or were traded in machines 2,864 Brazil. Of this total, 60% of sales in the region were related to the construction sector. For this year, "we see great growth potential in this area and also in mining and infrastructure sector," explained Chueire.
Already sales of trucks grew by about 160 percent last year compared to 2011. Were 242 units sold, compared with 93 in the previous period. According to the company, the growth is notably greater to the industry, which grew 58% in 2012.