As CONEXPO-CON/AGG continues to draw near, Stephen Roy, President, Region North America, at AEM member company Volvo Construction Equipment, discussed his thoughts on the show and the direction of the construction equipment industry.
Roy discussed what attendees and fellow exhibitors can expect from Volvo at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023, what he looks forward to most about the upcoming edition of the show, and why it’s so important for equipment manufacturers to make their presence known to construction industry professionals in attendance this coming spring in Las Vegas.
We’re just a few short months away from CONEXPO-CON/AGG, and it’s been almost three years since the construction industry came together in Las Vegas for the show. With that in mind, what are you personally looking forward to most about the 2023 edition?
Roy: For me, it’s really being able to highlight where Volvo is and where we’re at in our journey during a time that has been transformative in our industry. CONEXPO-CON/AGG offers us a chance to showcase what we have, gather feedback from our customers and engage our industry partners.
To really make a show like CONEXPO-CON/AGG work, the face-to-face aspect of it is so important. I think that’s why Las Vegas is the perfect venue for it. It attracts so many people, and with all the changes we’re seeing in our industry, I think it’ll be the perfect environment for people to find the latest and greatest innovations, as well as learn what will help their business succeed.
What does it mean for Volvo to be a part of the largest trade show in North America? And along those same lines, what should people expect to see from Volvo this coming year?
Roy: At Volvo we consider ourselves a change agent in this industry. Our theme is actually “Change starts here. Be ready for it.” So, for us at Volvo, we want to be at CONEXPO-CON/AGG to help illustrate where we see the industry going and how we are preparing our customers to be ready for it.
We’re not alone in this, but some of things we will showcase at the show will really highlight how Volvo is driving a focus on sustainable power and automation, and how we can help our customers be more productive, more efficient and more successful in their efforts to serve their own customers. We always say our goal is to make customers successful with their customers, so that’s the approach we’re taking. More specifically, we’ll have a mix of existing product, product that’s coming out soon and some forward-looking product that – like I mentioned before – will illustrate where the industry is going. That means a focus on sustainability, using electric machines and other sustainable power. We’ll showcase small compact electric equipment, all the way to larger equipment that has a mix of electric and diesel.
One thing that’s extremely important for us, and an area of focus for Volvo, centers on solutions for our machines. There’s no doubting the value and importance of the machines themselves. However, to maximize productivity and uptime, it takes the right solutions. So, at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023, we’re going to showcase a lot of telematics platforms, a lot of productivity platforms, as well as machine controls – solutions, to increase productivity and uptime.
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This article originally appeared in the bimonthly Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, Jan/Feb 2023 issue, Vol. 12, No. 1.
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