Spirit 38 - Volvo Construction Equipment

“I learned a lot over the last couple of years about how to deal with a crisis”
“Only by us all doing our bit will the
company thrive.”
you went in. But just because decisions make business sense
doesn’t mean that they are easy – and parting company with a
quarter of our loyal workforce was the hardest thing I’ve had to
do in my working life. Employees understood that we had to do
something – but that didn’t make it any easier. Happily, we are
now welcoming many of those people back into the company.”
While the impact of the crisis is still clear in the
memory, today the global markets have recovered remarkably
well – and Volvo Construction Equipment has not just survived,
but actually come out of the recession in a much stronger position
than when it went in. That the company is now one of the most
successful and ambitious in the industry is a direct result of that
proactive approach the company took to the crisis. Olof and
his team weren’t satisfied with just survival – there was a clear
intention to become a more customer focused, more efficient and
more global company when the markets recovered.
Hooked on construction
Now settled into life near Volvo Construction
Equipment’s headquarters in Brussels, Olof understands the
construction business – but having come from outside the industry
has he got to grips with the machinery? “Absolutely – I’m hooked
on it!” he laughs. “It’s got to the point where my children don’t
want to come on a car journey with me, as I keep slowing down
to look at the machines on the roadside and bore them with
the differences between wheeled and crawler excavators and
all the things backhoes can do. It’s been an education for the
whole family!”
With a consensual management style that collectively
sets targets and measurements, Olof is then unbending when it
comes to making sure that people meet their obligations. “Only
by us all doing our bit will the company thrive,” he explains.
This strategy seems to be paying dividends, as Volvo Construction
Equipment has never been in better shape.
Signs that things were stabilizing in the industry started
to appear towards the end of 2009 and as 2010 developed
it became clear that a full scale recovery was underway. Asia
(particularly China) was the first region to bounce back, followed
by Latin America, then Europe and now North America. This
was reflected in Volvo’s first quarter 2010 financial results, which
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