Volvo is one of the leading global manufacturers of construction equipment. In the past, its machines were imported and sold by four Danish subdealers, but in 1999, Volvo Entreprenørmaskiner A/S was founded.
This company bought up the majority of the Danish dealers and now runs the business from one central location. This Volvo subsidiary sells both products and services. Its products mainly consist of Volvo’s construction machinery.
The company’s collection consists of 36 service trucks, 18 of which are large trucks that can handle nearly every service and repair for a construction project. Some examples include excavators, articulated haulers, asphalt pavers, compactors and many more.
Its variety of wheel loaders weigh from 3.5 t up to 60 t, and its excavators can deliver 1.5 t to 80 t of construction equipment. Volvo Entreprenørmaskiner’s wide range of machinery covers all of a construction company’s needs, which is why it is a leading player in Denmark’s construction equipment industry.
As previously stated, it also provides a number of services for its customers. “We set up work stations at larger construction sites to provide direct services on-site,” explains Managing Director Jens Ejsing. “These can be set up for one, two or three years and include technicians. We have built these work stations three times in the past, and every time has been a success.”
Offering on-site Volvo solutions sets Volvo Entreprenørmaskiner apart from the competition. It is one of the only companies in this industry that places special trucks on-site to manage nearly every service in the field. This feature makes the whole process easier and cheaper for customers.
In addition, Volvo Entreprenørmaskiner offers administrative customer services, such as lease agreements concerning the pieces of equipment, maintenance and repair contracts as well as financial solutions.
The company’s target group is primarily big contractors undertaking large infrastructure projects, such as railroads, motorways, bridges and asphalt factories. In order for the customers to test out the construction equipment before purchasing, Volvo Entreprenørmaskiner came up with a creative solution.
Once a year at four different locations in Denmark, the company sets up an open gravel pit. Potential customers can test drive the equipment in these gravel pits to get a feel for them and see if the machines are a good fit for their projects. “These events are similar to open houses,” explains Mr. Ejsing. “We bring in Volvo trucks, Renault trucks and even Volvo cars to be tested out by drivers and equipment operators.”
Volvo Entreprenørmaskiner (and Volvo in general) also advertises its products and services at Bauma, the annual international exhibition for construction equipment in Munich. This year, Volvo launched the A30, the world’s largest articulated hauler, as well as the EC750, an 80 t excavator.
“We are involved with Volvo’s research and development department to a certain degree,” explains Mr. Ejsing. “We have constant discussions about what, where and when new equipment is needed in the market.”
The company believes it is important to sell products that have a low TCO, or total cost of ownership, and currently has some of the lowest available in the market.
The reason for this subsidiary’s success comes from four factors: great products, great employees, know-how and trust. “Volvo is built on trust,” says Mr. Ejsing. “We trust one another and do not waste time checking up on each other.”
Its employees are extremely skilled and trained specifically in Volvo’s methods and machinery. Volvo Entreprenørmaskiner was the preferred supplier in its industry last year, and it plans on earning this title again. In the future, the company hopes to expand its intelligence department.
Currently, it is working on a data handling project. These machines are so complex and involve so much data, and the company wants to form a system that collects this data and automates the production.
“The data handling project will optimize the equipment,” explains Mr. Ejsing. “It will assess how they drive, where they drive and what the exact sizes should be for each machine.” This intelligence development will set Volvo Entreprenørmaskiner even further apart from the competition. This business expanded greatly since its founding 17 years ago, and it continues to dominate and develop the construction equipment industry in Denmark.