January 27, 2012Volvo Group Australia will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its Australian manufacturing in 2012, covering local production of the Mack and Volvo products.
The Brisbane factory, originally at Rocklea, was replaced after it was flooded in 1974, moving to a ‘drier’ location at nearby Richlands.
As well as building Macks for local operators, the Australian arm has gone onto become a research centre for right hand drive models, a role that now includes Volvo models after the Swedish manufacturer took control of Mack in 2001.
Despite the global recession in 2008-2009, the factory and research and development unit continued to operate, with an upgrade during this period to expand the services offered to customers during the build process.
Although not operating at full capacity as the Australian truck market struggles to regain the volumes of 2006 and 2007, the factory produced 825 Mack trucks and 1215 Volvo models in 2012.
