Two UK Teams compete in Vista - the ‘ World Championship’ for Volvo service personnel 26 June 2007

For the first time ever, two teams from the UK have earned the right to represent their Volvo Truck and Bus Dealerships in the grand final of Volvo’s ultra-prestigious VISTA Championship which are being held today (June 26th) in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is 50 years since Volvo started a competition for service personnel and 30 years since that competition became known as VISTA – Volvo’s worldwide competition for aftermarket, parts and service personnel. Held every two years, the competition is now bigger than ever with the winners being crowned ‘World Champions’. This years’ competition started in October 2006, with the first, theoretical round attracted 11,849 entrants made up of 3,245 teams from 1,010 dealerships in 69 countries. Following the third round in February 2007, the number of teams progressing to the semi-finals was reduced to 160 and now, after nine months of competition in workshop expertise, the final of VISTA has at last reached the final, to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden today (26th June). The contestants are mainly workshop technicians and parts personnel – from Volvo Truck and Bus dealerships worldwide – and today’s final will be a full day of difficult practical tests in which the ability to co-operate and a knowledge of ‘Impact’, the Volvo service and parts information system, will be key factors. The top UK teams are from the Hull depot of Crossroads Trucks and Bus and Volvo Truck and Bus Centre East Anglia of Norwich. Each team assumed a nickname to add a humorous touch to the proceedings and to aid their identification in the rankings. The top team from Crossroads (Paul Cooper, Andrew Cooper, Simon Nendick and Gary Burn) go under the sobriquet of the ‘Valletta Vikings’, whilst the East Anglians (Richard Clayton, Lee Williams and Paul Mead) have dubbed themselves ‘The Underdogs’. “VISTA is a fantastically exciting experience for the competitors,” says Volvo Trucks CEO Staffan Jufors. “To Volvo, it’s a highly comprehensive and important training initiative. According to our calculations, VISTA 2007 represents a training input of 275,000 hours involving most of our service personnel worldwide.” He added, “VISTA helps to enhance the status of the service trade and enables us to attract the best talents into our workshops at times when competition for labour is tough, especially in markets where we are enjoying strong growth. Customer service is an increasingly important competitive parameter. Ultimately, it improves the quality of our workshops, to the benefit of our customers.”

Volvo Trucks increases deliveries in all regions except North America 26 June 2007

The largest individual increase was noted for Volvo Trucks in Eastern Europe, where deliveries during the period rose by a full 83% to 6,935 trucks (3,793). The South American market for heavy trucks is displaying an ascending trend and deliveries rose 30%. Asia, including the Middle East, also showed strong demand and truck deliveries there rose by 14%. Volvo Trucks’ deliveries during the period January-May amounted to 38,799 vehicles, down 9% compared with the year-earlier period. However, deliveries increased in all markets, with the exception of North America, where the total decrease was fully attributable to the expected temporary decline in North America, where new emission regulations became effective on January 1st 2007. During the first five months of the year, deliveries in North America declined by 60%.

Operation Stack - A new barrier to progress? 26 June 2007

The Freight Transport Association welcomed the announcement today of measures to improve safety during Phase 1 of Operation Stack but mourned the lost opportunity to make a real difference on Kent's roads. The Minister for Roads, Dr Ladyman, today (Monday 25 June) announced a £12.6 million scheme to deploy a Quick Moveable Barrier on the M20 during the first phase of Operation Stack. This will undoubtedly be safer than trying to manage fast moving traffic using plastic cones but no moves have yet been revealed to stop the backlog of traffic on the motorway in the first place. Ideally there needs to be an off-road site where vehicles travelling to the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel can be effectively marshalled and managed. Although there are plans to designate and develop such a site there is inevitably a row brewing about funding. Better still would be more intelligent use of the Highways Agency's network of variable message signs. Too often Operation Stack catches up vehicles whose port of destination remains open, with the absurd situation of ships to those ports sailing empty, because all vehicles, regardless of their destination, are lumped together on the hard shoulder. Local goods vehicles and residents are also snarled up like so many endangered species in the Highways Agency's drift net. Gordon Telling, FTA's Head of Policy for London, South East and East of England said, 'For too long the Highways Agency has regarded the network in Kent as a dumping ground where trucks can be hidden away in time of crisis at the ports. Given the forecast growth at Dover over the next ten years it is high time the Department for Transport and the Highways Agency took a strategic look at Kent's roads, which are a vital artery for goods coming into the UK as well as for exports that are supporting the economy. 'That strategic approach would be considering the needs not just of Operation Stack but also of local development such as East Kent and the Thames Gateway. As traffic volumes grow the best solution is for the Highways Agency to dip into its budgets, swollen with revenue from the Dartford Crossing, and end the uncertainty about a fit-for-purpose lorry park that can service both Operation Stack and regular drivers' rest needs, thereby keeping Kent's roads free for Kent residents and businesses. 'The Highways Agency has the tools to disseminate information across the network and direct traffic intelligently onto the M2 or M20 as necessary. Arguments about cost, whilst valid, should be overcome rather than used as a reason for inaction. 'Today's announcement is welcome insofar as it will improve safety and have a beneficial impact on traffic flow on some occasions. However, it must not be a smokescreen to hide the issue of truck parking.'