Employment at the Volvo Trucks North America plant in Pulaski County, Va., will top 2,000 as laid-off workers are recalled to handle a production increase starting this month.
Some 300 workers will return, Volvo spokesman Jim McNamara said. He said he didn't know exactly when the first workers would return, but he said the production increase will begin during the second week of April and employees will be called back as needed.
The plant turns out an average of 44 Volvo trucks a day and will increase to 56 by the end of April. An even bigger jump will come on the plant's Mack truck line, from an average of 18 to 43 trucks per day. Volvo purchased Mack Trucks in 2001, closed a Mack plant in Winnsboro, S.C., and moved the work to the Dublin plant during the last quarter of 2002.
McNamara said the production increases are in line with the company's plans and expectations when it decided to move the Mack production line to Virginia. The 293-acre site is Volvo's only North American manufacturing facility.
Customer demand plays a role, too. He said Volvo's new VN model, which went into production last November, has generated more than 6,000 orders. The VN model meets the new federal emissions standards for diesel engines that became effective last fall.
