Volvo
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- Volvo Cars is the premium car maker using the brand Volvo.
| AB Volvo | |
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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1927 |
| Headquarters | Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden |
| Key people | Leif Johansson, President of AB Volvo and CEO of Volvo Group |
| Industry | commercial vehicles |
| Products | trucks buses construction equipment drive systems for marine and industrial applications aerospace components financial services |
| Operating income | for 2006: SEK 22,111 M |
| Employees | 83,000 |
| Website | www.volvo.com |
AB Volvo (or Aktiebolaget Volvo), The Volvo Group, is a Swedish manufacturer of commercial vehicles, trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and financial services. The then auto manufacturer was founded on April 14, 1927 in the city of Göteborg Gothenburg, as a spin-off from the roller ball bearing maker SKF (Svenska Kullagerfabriken AB).
Volvo is Latin for "I roll". The name Volvo was originally registered in May 1911 as a separate company within SKF AB and as a registered trademark with the intention to be used for a special series of ball bearing, but this idea was only used for a short period of time and SKF decided to use "SKF" as the trademark for all its bearing products.
The company AB Volvo had no activities until 10 August, 1926 when the SKF Sales Manager Assar Gabrielsson and Engineer Gustav Larson, after one year of preparations involving the production of 10 prototypes, set up the car-manufacturing business Volvo AB within SKF group. Volvo AB was introduced at the Stockholm stock exchange in 1935 and SKF then decided to sell its shares in the company.
The first series produced Volvo automobile, the Volvo ÖV 4, left the factory on 14 April, 1927 which became the official date for the founding of Volvo.
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[edit] Volvo Group's history
The Volvo Group has its origin in 1927 when the first Volvo car rolled off the production line at the factory in Göteborg. Volvo 80 years
The first truck, Series 1, was presented in January 1928 and was an immediate success – it quickly sold out. Volvo’s trucks also attracted attention outside Sweden.
The export of trucks to Europe started in the 1930s. From the very start, the company’s two owners, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson, decided to construct vehicles that were safe and could withstand the harsh conditions posed by Sweden’s cold climate and the poor road conditions of that time. Since vehicles are driven by people, the founders’ view was that: “Safety is – and must always be – the basic principle in all design work.” The focus on safety, durability and quality has been part of the company’s development from the beginning.
Marine engines have been part of the Group almost as long as trucks. Pentaverken, which was founded in 1907 and celebrates its 100th anniversary, was acquired in 1935. As early as 1929, however, the legendary U-21 outboard engine was introduced. Manufacturing continued until 1962.
The first bus, aptly-named B1, was launched in 1934, and aircraft engines were added to the growing range of products at the beginning of the 1940s.
Competitors have come and gone, but the Volvo Group, from its relatively modest beginnings in the 1920s, has developed from a local industrial company to a global Group and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of heavy trucks, buses, construction equipment, marine engines and engine components for the aircraft and aerospace industry.
The Group’s position in the area of trucks was further consolidated with the acquisition of Renault Trucks and Mack Trucks in 2001, and our roots branched off to both France and the US. The last ten years the company has undergone rapid growth in the service area with, for example, financial solutions supporting the sales of the manufacturing business units.
[edit] The Volvo trademark
The Volvo trademark is now jointly owned (50/50) by Volvo and Ford. One of the main promotional activities for the trademark is the sailing contest Volvo Ocean Race, formerly the Whitbread Around the World Cup. There was also a Volvo Baltic Race.
[edit] Volvo companies
[edit] Business areas
The Volvo Group is organized into the following business areas:
- Volvo Trucks
- Mack Trucks
- Renault Trucks
- Volvo Buses
- Volvo Construction Equipment
- Volvo Penta
- Volvo Aero
- Volvo Financial Services
[edit] Business units
The group business areas are supported by a number of business units:
- Volvo 3P
- Volvo Powertrain
- Volvo Parts
- Volvo IT
- Volvo Technology
- Volvo Technology Transfer
- Volvo Business Services
[edit] See also
- Volvo Annual Report 2006
- www.volvo.com
- image gallery
- Ainax - ownership of Scania shares acquired by Volvo
- Volvo Cars
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