OMX Nordic Company News Bites
The Volvo Group is to have a new organization which better utilizes the global potential of the brands and products within the truck operations. For example, the sales and marketing of all of the truck companies will be organized in three regional organizational units, directly under the CEO. In the same manner, all product development and production of trucks and engines will be placed in two new central organizational units under the CEO.
"We are doing this to achieve a more agile and efficient organization with greater focus on our customers and brands," says Volvo"s CEO Olof Persson. The new organization will be in place as of January 1, 2012.
As has been previously reported, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a final rule (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-08-30/pdf/2011-21724.pdf¬) in August that will require all employers subject to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to post a notice in the workplace about the right to organize a union under the NLRA. The original rule was scheduled to take effect on Nov. 14, 2011. However, in an update (http://nlrb.gov/news/posting-employee-rights-notice-now-required-jan-31-board-postpones-deadline-allow-further-educa) published on Oct. 5, the NLRB announced that the new deadline for compliance is Jan. 31, 2012.
FleetOwner Magazine
The fast-growing trucking industry in India means that components are increasingly needed. To help meet that demand, Meritor HVS (India) Limited has opened a new aftermarket distribution center in Pune, India.
The new facility is strategically located to improve delivery time of brakes, drivelines, and axles, to original equipment (OE) and warehouse distribution customers, Meritor said.
IHS Global Insight Daily Analysis
Beiqi Foton opened a new 20,000-unit-per-annum electric vehicle (EV) plant in China's southern Guangdong province on Wednesday (28 September), reports the China Daily. The new plant began operations a few days after Beiqi Foton announced plans to create the largest EV component production park in Beijing. The plant in Guangdong will produce extended-range and plug-in electric buses. Zhao Jingguang, Foton vice-president, said that this extended-range plug-in EV is the most viable technology for energy-efficient commercial vehicles in China. "I believe this EV is the ideal product for the current Chinese market where charging facilities are not really ready, since it can operate without charging pillars.
I personally don't think the charging infrastructure layout can be finished in the next five to 10 years, so this extended-range plug-in is a good transitional product." The company began making new-energy vehicles in 2003 and according to the China Daily report the automaker has delivered 5,000 units; these are used, for example, as waste-water trucks. This year the automaker expects to deliver 200 EVs for use as taxis in Beijing.
Trailer/Body Builders Magazine
TrynEx International, the manufacturer of SnowEx, TurfEx, and SweepEx product lines, has moved into a new, state-of-the-art plant in Madison Heights MI. The facility positions TrynEx for future expansion and it allows the company to set up a lean manufacturing system through a partnership with the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC).
Much larger than its previous building, TrynEx's new 130,000-square-foot facility allows plenty of room for development and growth. It also contains multiple new features to improve assembly and shipping. These include flexible lean manufacturing lines, ergonomic tooling, and a pick-and-pack order fulfillment system. Furthermore, the building includes a training center for staging corporate meetings and forums, making it more guest-friendly for visiting dealers and OEMs.