VOLVO CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT
VOLVO CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT
SATISFIED WITH STABILITY – SINCE 1964
Volvo, the world leader in wheel loaders and articulated haulers, continues to invest in Makino machines.
In one small corner of the huge Volvo Construction Equipment plant at Eskilstuna in Sweden is a row of six Makino a92s. Transmission unit housings for wheel loaders are machined on this automated production line, and Volvo are extremely satisfied with the stability and reliability of the Makino machines.
Volvo Construction Equipment (CE) is the world’s largest manufacturer of articulated haulers and wheel loaders, and one of the world leaders in excavation equipment, road development machines and compact construction equipment. Customers use Volvo machines in a broad spectrum of industries ranging from quarrying, oil and gas, utilities and road construction to industrial materials’ handling and forestry. The Volvo CE plant in Eskilstuna manufactures transmission units for wheel loaders and motor graders as well as axles for wheel loaders and articulated haulers that are subsequently assembled at plants in Sweden, Brazil and the USA. At one of the production lines in the vast plant, six fully automated Makino a92 horizontal machining centres (HMCs) are employed to machine transmission unit housings for Volvo CE wheel loaders ranging from the relatively small L60F to the huge L220F.
Håkan Wallin, a strategic buyer for Volvo CE, recalls how the Eskilstuna plant came to choose the a92s in 2007-2008: “As always, we sent out tenders to different suppliers. We evaluated all suppliers based on technical and commercial requirements set out in the requests for quotations. After final negotiations with three potential suppliers, and after long internal discussions, we decided to go with Makino. One of the decisive factors was the stability of these machines. That was very important – along with other factors like productivity, price, support and service.” In Sweden, technicians from Johan Nordström Verktygsmaskiner (JN), Makino’s representative in Sweden, set up the six a92 machines and integrated them into the Fastems FMS-integrated system with its central tool-storage unit. Bengt Svensson, JN’s Service Manager, was ideally suited to supervising installation, commissioning and after-sales support because, before joining JN, he had worked for Volvo CE in Eskilstuna for 22 years.
Håkan Wallin: “When you buy equipment like this, you always have your share of the unexpected. But in this case, we were able to overcome the minor difficulties very smoothly with the help of Makino Hamburg and JN. The machines were commissioned very well and we also had a really dedicated guy from Makino Hamburg here, who did an excellent job.”
The a92 production line has now been running smoothly for over three years. Volvo CE supervisor Anders Mezö and team leader Göran Ackeberg are both pleased with the performance. Göran Ackeberg: “The machines have worked very well. We have had the stability we wanted, and the machining precision too. And we have been very happy with the support from JN.” The dropbox housings are forged from nodular cast iron and transported to Eskilstuna for precision machining on the a92s. The production line works a three-shift system from Mondays to Fridays with three or four men per shift. As Göran Ackeberg says, “Fastems is the brain, the Makino machines the heart and we are the legs of this system”.
Once machining is completed, the housings are washed and put into storage ready for assembly-on-demand and final testing at the in-house test beds. Not far from the a92 production line are three older Makino machines – two A77s and one A66 – that are used for machining valves. The A77s were installed in the late 1990s and the A66 in 2004. Volvo CE has been entirely satisfied with their performance, too. But these three machining centres are mere youngsters compared to the Makino C40 hidden away in another corner of the 65,000 m2 plant. This tool-grinding machine was built in 1964 and is still doing a fine job at Volvo CE. Such long-lasting stability and precision leave a long-lasting impression.