Volvo

The Volvo Powertrain plant near Hagerstown celebrated the creation of 50 new jobs with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon. Plant Vice President Wade Watson said before the ceremony that workers at the Hagerstown facility will start serial production of the company's new automated manual transmissions next week. The systems will be installed in heavy trucks. “It's a proud moment for this factory,” Watson said. “We've been here for 50 years, and this is a continued evolution of the change this factory has been through.

There are cars that are famous for winning races, crossing continents and scaling high peaks. But how many have ever been considered genuine movie stars in their own right? The Volvo P1800 can lay claim to that kind of fame. For most North Americans and many non-Nordic Europeans, the P1800's producer was synonymous with idiosyncratic car construction. Volvo's feet were firmly planted on the sidelines of mainstream automobile culture and seemed destined to remain there. The P1800 helped change that.

Smelly, dirty, greasy, men, noise. These are descriptions a few of the Washington County Public Schools guidance counselors gave when Volvo Group Trucks Operations Vice President Wade Watson asked what they think of when they hear “diesel engines.” Approximately 70 guidance counselors, from elementary to high schools, listened to Watson talk about changing perceptions of manufacturing, including job opportunities and workplaces. “We've really modernized the way of working, (we)

How, exactly, does a premium Swedish car company take root from nothing but a conversation over dinner? How does a name become synonymous with safety? And how do Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson, two men with three simple rules, go down in history as the team responsible for creating the legendary Volvo brand? The story is, as the historians tell it, quite literally a fishy one. Gabrielsson, an economics major and a sales genius for a Swedish ball-bearing company became the money guy. Larson was the idea man and an engineer and designer who had worked as a trainee at White & Poppe in Coventry, England, where he was involved in the design of Morris engines.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania State Police on Friday investigated a collision involving a vehicle and a train, the second in four days in Franklin County. Police said Lloyd W. Russell, 23, was westbound in a Volvo tractor truck on Lighthouse Road in Guilford Township at 10:42 a.m. when he failed to stop at the Norfolk Southern railroad crossing just west of U.S. 11. The truck was hit by a southbound freight train whose crew members were Dennis W. Meeks, 63, of Chester, Pa., and Francis R. Krempa, 59, of Pittston, Pa. Police said the crossing had a stop sign, but no gates or warning lights.

At the heart of the 2004 Volvo S40 sedan is Volvo value and character. A true Volvo, the S40 boasts a full complement of safety features, sophisticated chassis design and interior amenities. Continuing to build on its reputation as Volvo virtue at an affordable price, the S40 sedan's four-cylinder engine received a 10-horsepower increase for the 2003 model year. For 2004, the Swedish automaker will offer a new Limited Sport Edition Package with a production run of only 2,500 units.

laurae@herald-mail.com It will cost more than $100 million to build a new production line for Volvo truck engines at Mack Trucks Inc.'s Hagerstown plant, local economic development officials said Friday. Volvo, Mack's Swedish parent company, announced last month it would center its North American Powertrain Division in Hagerstown, which means all the engines for Volvo heavy trucks sold in North America will be made here in addition to Mack truck engines and transmissions. The new engines are under development and won't be put into production until 2004 to 2007.

FREDERICK, Md. -- A woman was arrested Thursday after the car she was driving traveled the wrong way on U.S. 15 and Interstate 270 for seven miles, causing three car crashes, according to a Maryland State Police press release. Amanda Tyerar, 21, of Gaithersburg, Md., was charged with DUI, troopers said. The incident started Thursday at 1:54 a.m. when state police received multiple calls from residents about a Volvo S40 going the wrong way on U.S. 15 near Patrick Street, troopers said.

A Hagerstown man was charged with operating an unsafe vehicle on the highway and failure to drive right of center after his car struck an oncoming car on Longmeadow Road and a house Tuesday, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Kirk Mathers, 26, was transported to Meritus Medical Center after the 11:54 a.m. crash, according to a news release from Deputy First Class Bryan Teets. Mathers was driving a 1990 Volvo east on Longmeadow Road near Corello Drive when he began having car trouble, the release said.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.VA - The driver of a Volvo passenger car died Friday afternoon when his car ran off U.S. 522 in Morgan County, hit a tree and rolled at least once, police said. West Virginia State Police Trooper Z.L. Nine declined to release the victim's name because he said he had not yet notified the man's next of kin. He said the car had a California license plate on it. Three passengers who were asleep in the car when the accident happened were not injured, Nine said.

After donning a bright yellow vest and plastic safety glasses, Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown got to see what goes on behind the scenes at the Mack/Volvo Powertrain manufacturing plant during a Friday afternoon tour of the facility north of Hagerstown. “It's exciting,” Brown said. “We've got nearly 1,400 employees in skilled jobs, family-supporting jobs. And that Volvo calls Maryland home, that means a lot to us.” Brown's visit included time to meet with Volvo officials privately before the tour to talk about potential state partnerships with the large Washington County employer on future job-growth initiatives and plant expansion.

Volvo Construction Equipment celebrated its $100 million investment in its new national headquarters in Shippensburg during a day-long ceremony Thursday. The company also unveiled its first U.S.-built wheel loaders as they rolled off the assembly line at the Franklin County plant Thursday. “This should serve as a very clear signal that Volvo CE is committed to this market and in a better position than ever before to offer our customers products that are made by Americans, for Americans,” Volvo Construction Equipment President Pat Olney said in a statement.

Volvo Powertrain North America is donating a $20,000 piece of equipment, used to test manufactured parts, to Williamsport High School's manufacturing and pre-engineering program, Washington County Public Schools officials said. The Board of Education voted unanimously March 5 to accept the donation. School board President Justin Hartings said it was a generous gift. The coordinates machine determines how accurate a manufactured item is to the drawing for the item, according to George Phillips, supervisor of enrichment and career technology education.

A local Greencastle business is doubling the size of its operations by moving to a new 12,000-square-foot facility in Antrim Commons Business Park this summer. Gate 7 Ltd., a company based in Newcastle, England, is moving from its 6,500-square-foot building at 145 Pine Drive, Greencastle, to a state-of-the-art facility on Armada Drive in Greencastle. “We are pleased to expand our operations in the United States as a result of our continued growth,” company vice president John Reay said.

One of Volvo Group Hagerstown Site's more than 100 Operational Development teams had an idea that raised $32,000 for The Salvation Army.  On Jan. 25, team members toured The Salvation Army facility to see for themselves how donations have been used and are being allocated to an existing vital project.  The idea is known by the site's 1,400 employees as “vBay.” “It started in late 2011, when we assessed the collection of items and...

David D. Hedstrom, 57, passed away Sunday Dec. 16, 2012. Born Oct. 14, 1955, in Caribou, Maine, he was the son of Theodore and Evelyn (Larsson) Hedstrom. He was married to Kathleen Allen Hedstrom on July 11, 1981. David was employed by Volvo in Shippensburg, Pa. He was an active member of Zion Reformed Church, Society of Agricultural Engineers and Williamson Ruritan. He loved gardening, woodworking and helping others.     David is survived by his wife, Kathleen Hedstrom of St. Thomas, Pa.; two children, Megan M. Carey of Chambersburg, Pa., and David D. Hedstrom II of Los Angeles, Calif.; two sisters, Marie Garland and Letha Van Kirk; and four brothers, Marvin, Warren, Gary and Alton Hedstrom.

Smelly, dirty, greasy, men, noise. These are descriptions a few of the Washington County Public Schools guidance counselors gave when Volvo Group Trucks Operations Vice President Wade Watson asked what they think of when they hear “diesel engines.” Approximately 70 guidance counselors, from elementary to high schools, listened to Watson talk about changing perceptions of manufacturing, including job opportunities and workplaces. “We've really modernized the way of working, (we)

Volvo Construction Equipment recently donated four diesel engines to Franklin County (Pa.) Career and Technology Center for the diesel and agricultural mechanics programs, which are a part of the school's transportation academy. The diesel engines are the same type found in many Volvo CE machines. The mechanics program at the career center trains students on how to repair and service diesel engines and heavy equipment, according to a news release. “Students who go through this program are employable when they leave this school thanks in part to the hands-on instruction they receive.

While the financial state of the nation seems to be mired in a quagmire of doom and gloom, the economic future of Franklin County is sound and getting brighter, said the president of the Franklin County Area Development Corp. Speaking to hundreds of business leaders at the Tuscarora Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Partnership Breakfast at Whitetail Golf Resort last week, L. Michael Ross said the community has many reasons to be optimistic about the future of Franklin County. “I'm happy to talk about this because every time we watch TV everybody wants to tell us how bad we are. The fact is that I think we need to be aware of some of the things taking place (here)

A record 171 runners and walkers from the community participated in the sixth annual Volvo Group Hagerstown 5K Run/Walk on Aug. 18. The course looped around the Volvo campus. Kieran Lee, a Volvo employee, was the top overall male winner with a time of 16 minutes, 34 seconds. Laurie Dymond of Chambersburg, Pa., paced the women with a top time of 19:09. Patrick Odelberg, vice president of Powertrain Engineering, offered welcoming remarks and assisted with the awards ceremony. Awards were given in age brackets and to the top employee finishers.