The new Volvo articulated haulers awarded highest quality of design prize

THE NEW VOLVO ARTICULATED HAULERS AWARDED HIGHEST QUALITY OF DESIGN PRIZE The new Volvo A35D and A40D Articulated Haulers have been awarded the highly prestigious German Red Dot Award for highest quality of design. They were designed in close cooperation with Volvo Construction Equipment by Nya Perspektiv Design AB Gothenburg, Sweden, and were selected by the Red Dot Award jury among more than 1,500 products participating in the product design category of the contest. Nya Perspektiv and the winners in the other categories were honored today at the official award ceremony that took place in the Aalto Theater in the city of Essen, Germany. The main reasons for awarding the highest quality of design to the new Volvo articulated haulers are: "The A35D and A40D articulated haulers combine engineering precision with safety and comfort. The primary goal of the designers was to simplify heavy bulk transport and keep the cost per ton of load as low as possible. These requirements decisively influenced the design of the two new haulers. A further consideration was to assure the safety and comfort of the drivers".* "Of course, we are proud that our new haulers won this award for reasons that so strongly emphasize the Volvo core values. It is a clear proof that the close cooperation that existed during the whole product development process between us and our design partner, Nya Perspektiv, has produced excellent results not only in the appearance of our haulers but also in their functionality," says Tony Helsham, President and CEO of Volvo Construction Equipment. The Volvo A35D and A40D were launched worldwide in September 2000. However, the prestudies for the product development of these machines already started in 1992. "Design was involved early on in this project and was allowed to play an equal part to other involved functions," says Hans Philip Zachau, Chief Designer at Nya Perspektiv, "actually, designers were allowed to start sketching even before the engineers started their work. This has played a very significant part in the successful result." The basic idea behind the Volvo Articulated Hauler concept is to simplify heavy transport with the highest possible cost efficiency, production capacity and accessibility, to obtain the lowest cost per ton transported. Equally important is the operator comfort, which obviously influences the productivity of the machine. These are the fundamental design criteria for this type of machine. Other criteria are the requirement for good aesthetics and correct treatment of brand character and identity that fit the other Volvo Construction Equipment products. As market leader within the articulated hauler segment it is also important to be the trendsetter for design. "The new Volvo haulers present a sophisticated technical content, but the essential values were developed with great respect for human aspects," says Hans Philip Zachau, "this required an interactive development process where marketing, design, engineering and production closely cooperated throughout the whole project". Some of the most important design results of this development process are: · The basic shape of the cabin with cut corners and A-pillars drawn very much to the rear, creating an operator environment similar to a command platform with a wide, uninterrupted field of vision. · The cabin layout, presenting a delta shaped instrument panel with good reachability and optimized conditions for instrument reading and control handling. · The carefully studied seating position emphasizes comfort and all instruments and control panels are within easy reach. Even the ceiling is an important panel that contributes to the interior theme. All lower surfaces are covered with sound absorbing panels. · The field of vision, and thereby safety, is optimized through a high operator position, slanting hood and side panels, rounded corners and a dark hood. · Easily reachable systems and components enhance serviceability. "We and the product development staff at Volvo Articulated Haulers are very pleased with the result. We also feel very proud to have won the Red Dot Award. It is a great international recognition of our successful collaboration," says Hans Philip Zachau. In 1998, Nya Perspektiv also won the Excellent Swedish Design Award for the design of the Volvo L30 and L45 compact wheel loaders. And in 1999, the company won the same award for the design of two other products. Lasse Pettersson and Hans Philip Zachau were employed by the Design department of Volvo Cars until 1989, when they founded Nya Perspektiv Design. The company has been involved in different car-, bus-, truck- and construction equipment projects over the years. You can download a picture by clicking this link: http://www.volvoce.com/volvoce/download/downloadfiles.asp *Excerpt from "Design Innovations Yearbook 2001, Red Dot product design" ONE OF THE LARGEST DESIGN COMPETITIONS Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Germany has been highlighting internationally outstanding product design with its famous "Red Dot" since 1955. With over 4,000 entries from 20 countries, the Red Dot award ranks among the most important worldwide design competitions today. Manufacturers and designers of an extremely broad range of industrial products can compete all year round for the prestigious award in eleven product groups. The contested trophy is the "Red Dot", a label that is awarded in four categories: product design, communication design, intelligent design and design team of the year. -ends- For further information please contact: Beatrice Cardon Volvo Construction Equipment Avenue du Hunderenveld 10 B-1082 Brussels Belgium Tel: int + 32 2482 5021 Fax: int + 32 2675 1777 e.mail: beatrice.cardon@volvo.com Volvo Construction Equipment is a major international company developing, manufacturing and marketing equipment for construction and related industries. Its products, leaders in many world markets, include a comprehensive range of wheel loaders, hydraulic excavators, articulated haulers, motor graders and compact equipment. Volvo Construction Equipment is part of the Volvo Group, world leading manufacturer of trucks, buses, construction equipment, marine and industrial engines, and aerospace systems and components. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/06/25/20010625BIT00270/bit0002.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/06/25/20010625BIT00270/bit0002.pdf