Made In America: Volvo Expected To Announce U.S. Superproject Soon

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VOLVO EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE U.S. SUPERPROJECT SOON
Volvo Cars of North America is expected to make an announcement soon that it will locate a $500 million superproject somewhere in the southern part of the U.S., expanding the automaker’s global footprint to three continents.

Volvo, which was purchased from Ford by Zhejiang Geely Holdings of China in 2011, currently has two factories each in Europe and China. Volvo officials said the company’s “transformation plan” involves the creation of a global industrial footprint, the complete renewal of Volvo’s product range through 2019, the introduction of a new modular vehicle technology, the development of world-first safety technologies, a new design language and a range of class-leading connectivity services.

“Volvo Cars cannot claim to be a true global car maker without an industrial presence in the U.S. Today, we became that,” said Håkan Samuelsson, Chief Executive and President said in a news release on March 30. “The U.S. is an absolutely crucial part of our global transformation and today’s announcement makes it perfectly clear that Volvo is in the U.S. to stay.”

Samuelsson added that the decision to invest in the U.S. highlights Volvo’s long term commitment to the U.S. market, where the luxury auto brand’s goal is to exceed its current volume targets and hit a medium term target of selling 100,000 cars a year.

Volvo officials did not respond to several inquiries from Talk Business & Politics concerning its plans for a U.S. plant. Recent news articles say South Carolina, North Carolina and Kentucky are finalists for the superproject.

CATERPILLAR JUMPS INTO DATA ARENA WITH GAME-CHANGING DEALS
Is manufacturing giant Caterpillar poised to take on Little Rock’s Acxiom, Experian and other data tech firms in the emerging area of artificial intelligence and predictive analytics?

In the past 30 days or so, the Peoria, Ill.-based manufacturing giant made two stunning announcements that caught the attention of the technology world.

On March 5, the farming and agri manufacturing behemoth announced it was making a minority investment in Uptake, a tiny Chicago startup that has only been in business for about 18 months. Caterpillar, which has a 700-employee back loader manufacturing facility in North Little Rock, said it “will jointly develop an end-to-end platform for predictive diagnostics to help Caterpillar customers monitor and optimize their fleets more effectively.”

Caterpillar made an even bigger announcement on Friday of a new division within the company focused on analytics and innovation. Read more of what this may mean here.

GOVERNOR TO HEADLINE ARKANSAS MANUFACTURING INNOVATION SUMMIT
Gov. Asa Hutchinson will deliver the opening remarks for the inaugural two-day summit, planned to kick off on April 29 at the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub in North Little Rock.

This two-day event is designed to bring the state’s manufacturers and economic players together to discuss, share and learn about cutting edge manufacturing innovations and technologies that can help grow revenue and jobs, increase productivity, improve quality, and add to your bottom line, organizers said.

Panels will cover how to employ innovation within companies not just products, maximize new technology and techniques, overcome workforce obstacles, and access resources available to Arkansas manufacturers.

Robert B. Tucker, the president of The Innovation Resource and an internationally recognized leader in the field of innovation, will speak on “Staying Ahead Of The Innovation Curve.”

Registration is open and seating is limited. Click here to sign up or learn more about the upcoming manufacturing summit.

SEN. BOOZMAN TOURS HYTROL FACTORY IN JONESBORO
Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., toured the Hytrol Conveyor Co. in Jonesboro last week, hearing from business owners about issues they deal with on a daily basis that affect the cost of doing business.

Hytrol has been located in Jonesboro since 1947 and has 850 employees at its Northeast Arkansas facility, company president Gregg Goodner told Boozman before a tour of the plant. The company makes conveyors and other equipment for businesses like Barnes & Noble, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Macy’s and FedEx.