Volvo Sets a Hot Pace in Research
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APART from the equipment usually to be found in the research department of a big oil company, some of the finest apparatus I have yet seen for testing engines and chassis components is employed in the A. B. Volvo Works in Sweden.
Many manufacturers use proprietary-made units in the assembly of vehicles, but in the Volvo concern the scheme is somewhat different, because although components are supplied from dutside sources, they are mostly designed by Volvo technicians. The only departure from this policy is the use of units such as brakes, electrical equipment, pro B6 peller shafts and other standard parts manufactured in Britain, Germany and America, because they cannot be made in sufficient quantities in Sweden to enable the vehicles to be sold at a competitive price. On arriving at the factory in Gothenburg all components are rigorously tested before being assembled to form the complete vehicle.
During 1950, 4,960 lorries, 873 buses, 4,230 tractors and 8,706 cars were assembled by Volvo, and I was surprised that a factory with such a small output could afford to equip a research laboratory on a large scale.
A large proportion of equipment has been manufactured within the Volvo group of companies, because, during its expansion, four of the former sub-contractors, making bodies, engines, gearboxes and other components, have been acquired.
A belt-testing machine, for example, has been developed and built within the organization. Normally, equipment for this purpose would comprise the bare essentials of an electric motor and pulleys mounted on spindles, but the elaborate apparatus used by Volvo provides a direct reading of belt stretch and wear in graph form. The apparatus is enclosed in a case finished in crackle enamel.