Volvo Trucks: Groundbreaking collaboration to accelerate green transport of concrete
Unicon, the largest producer and supplier of ready-mixed concrete in Denmark, intends to place the largest private single order to date for electric trucks that will run on Danish roads. The 11 Volvo FM Electric trucks will start being delivered in the end of the year. In addition, Unicon and Volvo Trucks have agreed on a long-term collaboration that aims to develop and implement complete truck and body electric solutions for the concrete industry.
After gaining good experience with a Volvo FE Electric, Unicon is now taking the next big step towards emission-free distribution by introducing a new generation of electric truck mixers with longer range and higher payload. Therefore, the company intends to place the country’s largest private single order to date for 11 Volvo FM Electric models that will be converted to truck mixers and operate in Denmark. In addition, Unicon and Volvo Trucks have entered into a long-term collaboration to implement and optimize electric solutions for the concrete industry.
The collaboration aims to give Unicon the opportunity to put electric truck mixers into operation that match all needs in connection with efficient and sustainable distribution of ready-mixed concrete. “With this major order and ambitious collaboration agreement, we are putting tangible actions behind our CO2 emission targets for our distribution. This clearly underlines our role as a frontrunner for the construction industry in both Denmark and worldwide.
We are very much looking forward to this collaboration with Volvo Trucks, which gives us unique opportunities to jointly develop the right complete truck and body electric solutions for our distribution,” explains Christian Elleby, Supply Chain & Procurement Director at Unicon. Big challenge to electrify transports of concrete The record Danish order for electric trucks is remarkable, because heavy vehicles for the concrete industry are among the most difficult to electrify.
Therefore, according to Peter Ericson, Managing Director of Volvo Trucks in Denmark, this is a significant and forward-looking collaboration, which they expect a lot from: “With these agreements, we are taking important steps in expanding fossil-free distribution solutions to the concrete industry, where electrification of heavy vehicles has been a very difficult challenge due to the heavy loads and continuous mixing demands. We are pleased to have Unicon on board as a strategic partner and we expect a lot of learning and development as a result of the collaboration for the benefit of an entire industry.”
Milestone towards an emission-free fleet Unicon believes that electric truck mixers offer the most obvious technology for achieving ambitious sustainability goals. This applies both in relation to supporting emission-free distribution of ready-mixed concrete and for creating a better and even safer working environment on construction sites.
“With the new electric truck mixers, we are ready to support the requirements for emission-free construction sites in Denmark, which we see from the City of Copenhagen, as well as an increasing number of contractors and builders,” comments Christian Elleby. About Unicon A/S
- Unicon is Denmark’s oldest and largest producer and supplier of ready-mixed concrete with 35 factories and more than 400 employees throughout the country. It produces about 1 million cubic meters of concrete annually and has its own fleet of 195 trucks.
- Unicon has defined a target to reduce CO2 emissions from its fleet by 30 percent in 2025 compared to 2019.
At the same time, the company has a clear strategy to make its fleet of truck mixers emission-free in 2035.
- Unicon is part of the Aalborg Portland Group, which is owned by Italian Cementir Holding.
About Volvo’s electric trucks:
- Volvo Trucks have a range of six all electric trucks designed to cover a wide variety of different transport assignments.
- The Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX Electric are heavy-duty trucks with a gross combination weight of 44 tonnes.
Sales are ongoing in Europe and production will start in the second half of 2022.
- Serial production in Europe of the Volvo FL and Volvo FE Electric, for city distribution and refuse handling, started in 2019.
- Production of the Volvo VNR Electric for North America began in 2021.