Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is making a major investment in technical training facilities and programs with the addition of a $4.3 million training center in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.

Upon its planned opening by the end of 2022, the facility will provide a space to develop and deliver in-person and virtual trainings and will be at the highest caliber of training sites in the equipment industry.

“This investment demonstrates Volvo CE’s commitment to our dealers and customers as well as the future of the construction industry,” said Stephen Roy, President of Region North America, Volvo CE. “Equipment and technology are constantly changing and improving. These training opportunities will help prepare new technicians for successful careers and help veteran technicians keep up with the latest developments.”

The training facility will be an extension to the Volvo CE Customer Center at the company’s North American headquarters. Opened in 2014, the Customer Center sits on 40 acres with a full machine demonstration area used for dealer and customer events.

The $4.3 million expansion will include the addition of several new machine bays, classrooms and a virtual lab used for creating and hosting virtual trainings. Training will primarily be for Volvo dealer technicians, but it will benefit customers who visit Shippensburg by providing a holistic view of what the company is doing to support their operations with training for operators and technicians, plant tours, the ability to interact with Volvo CE experts and more.

The world-class training center will include technical courses on equipment as well as productivity and uptime services, such as the Volvo Assist programs and ActiveCare Direct managed telematics program. There will also be training and demonstrations on electric machines, automation and connectivity. The virtual lab will allow for the use of video, augmented reality and other technologies to support dynamic virtual training courses for dealers throughout the U.S. and Canada.

“This investment to our Customer Center puts our training staff closer to the equipment and technologies, and it emphasizes to technicians the importance of customer productivity and uptime,” Roy said. “Today’s techs must learn both the ‘nuts and bolts’ as well as the connected systems.”

Construction is expected to begin later this year and finish in late 2022. When it is opened, the facility will be a center of competence for technical training and the cornerstone of Volvo CE’s technician training strategy.

The Shippensburg training center is part of a larger strategy to invest in in-person and virtual training throughout North America. More details on those efforts will be announced later this year.

“This isn’t just an investment in the construction industry, but also in the local communities where we’re growing and in our North American presence,” Roy said.