Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/315150
32 D R I V E R ' S D I G ES T #2 /2014 INSIDE VOLVO "We recently had an event featuring our VHD product, and the customer feedback was very positive. One customer experienced a VHD tackling a 27 percent hill climb in a fully loaded, I-Shift- equipped VHD. He was simply blown away; you can't do that with an empty truck on a highway." JOH N N Y K I NC E R , VOLVO FAC I L I T I E S E NGI N E E R end. But what we're doing here is extending that and giving them a chance to really experience just how good our products are and just how enthusiastic we are about making them." "I've worked here for 14 years. It's a great place to work, and everyone is very enthusiastic about what we accomplish," says Ogle. "So, in some ways, the Customer Experience Track is an opportunity for people to experience not just the Volvo product but also the Volvo people." And customers aren't the only ones that will benefit from the Customer Experience Track, says Ogle. Aer the track is complete, Ogle will return to his regular duties — optimizing newly built trucks that emerge off the line, preparing trucks for DOT inspections and ensuring that the quality that Volvo customers have come to expect is maintained at all times. "It's not just for the customers," says Ogle. to good use in the construction of the new track. But it hasn't always been easy. "e weather has been a challenge and the construction process has been serious work. We've moved nearly 135,000 yards of dirt, in- filled with 50,000 yards of rock and we're look - ing at a finished track with a nine-inch gravel base and a foot of pavement," Ogle says. "We've put in two tracks. e outer one is for over the road trucks, and the inner circuit is our off-highway course. e inner circuit is a real test of our off-highway range — we've got in - clines of up to 27 percent. From my experience in the construction industry, I can tell that this is a very good real-life test of any vehicle." Ogle says customers visiting the NRV facility are amazed to see how the product comes to- gether. "Two chassis rails go into one end of the building and a new truck comes out of the other which has now moved 50,000 cubic yards of rock and doesn't have one dent in its load bed." One of the people responsible for moving those cubic yards is Billy Ogle. Prior to joining Volvo 14 years ago, Ogle worked in the con - struction industry. During his time working construction, Ogle operated a wide variety of yellow iron, from dozers to dump trucks. "e Volvo CE equipment that we're using today is a lot better than the equipment I used to use," he says. "It's a lot more comfortable, a lot more fuel efficient — it's like the difference between one of the trucks that we build today and one that was built 14 years ago." Since last May, Ogle and a group of other NRV employees have been tasked with the design and construction of the new Customer Experience Track. Ogle and his colleagues — with similar skills — have put their experience