Volvo And Mack To Recall Workers To Plants

Volvo will be recalling about 270 people to its New River Valley Assembly Plant beginning the week of September 6. Mack will be increasing employment by about 125 people at its Macungie Assembly Operations beginning the first week of October. At this point, it is anticipated that in addition to recalling folks currently on layoff, Mack will need to hire new employees as well.

The recall will support a production ramp-up driven by increased orders. In addition to some positive market trends, the company believes the order increase also is being fueled by the very positive experience customers are having with its new EPA 2010-compliant trucks. According to a company spokesperson, “We’ve also been working very hard to get people behind the wheel of demonstrator trucks to show them first-hand the quality, performance and productivity of these vehicles. Beyond meeting the most stringent emissions requirements in the world, the new Volvos are also delivering up to 5 percent better fuel economy than their predecessors.”

While the construction market remains very weak, MAck recently experienced an uptick in order activity on the highway and refuse sides of its business. Through July, Mack U.S. retail sales are up about 17 percent. Last month Mack announced a 325-truck order from Chrysler Group Transport which effectively will replace this new Mack customer’s entire fleet operating in the U.S and Canada.

Volvo previously indicated it had received an order for 370 trucks from Knight Transportation in February and an order for 600 from Penske Truck Leasing in May. Beyond these orders, the company says it is continuing to win significant orders from new customers that until now have not had Volvo trucks in their fleets.

The NRV plant currently employs just over 1,200 people, so this recall represents a staffing increase of about 23 percent. The Macungie plant currently employs about 750 people. The increase in employment comes on the heels of Mack’s recalling  75 people in June.