Hello all, First I would like to preface these statements by saying that I am not a company official, and do not hold a high ranking position. None of the opinions stated here are of an official nature. They are just opinions aimed at bringing some positives to light. I wrestled with whether or not to reply to this thread, but in the end I have a good deal of pride in the Mack brand as well as the Volvo brand and I wanted to, at the least, point out some of the opportunities that may arise from this decision. So far this thread has focused on all of the negative things that could happen as a result of these decisions, if these decisions are not managed well in the coming months and years. I wanted bring to light some of the incredible opportunities that the Mack and Volvo brands stand to gain with a little bit of management through this transition. Second I would like to offer my thoughts and prayers to all of the Pennsylvania employees that will be impacted by these restructuring decisions. A little background on myself: My Father started working at White motors 33 years ago, and has been up-close and personal with the likes of White, Volvo White, Volvo GM, Autocar, and now Mack trucks. My Girlfriends father is a second generation Mack employee (he and his father retired from Mack trucks). I would like to add a few things to 3Ps comments based on what I have been told. My understanding is that all affected employees at the Mack World Headquarters have been / will be offered positions in Greensboro. I am also under the impression that a separate Mack headquarters will still exist in Greensboro to house positions and departments aimed at maintaining brand uniqueness. Second I would like to speak “off the cuff”; purely opinions on how I would like to see things play out, and how I think these decisions could eventually strengthen both brands. I think that Volvo AB learned from how things were handled with the Autocar product. I think they will tread very lightly when it comes to streamlining any processes that deal with brand identity. IE, undoing a costly investment to combine the assembly lines at the New River Valley Plant. I think it makes perfect sense to combine efforts and gain synergies in areas such as Purchasing, Parts Distribution, Service, and Cab Engineering. Parts for both products should be warehoused, purchased, sold, and maintained by the same group to take advantage of higher volumes and operating synergies. This will lead to better service and cheaper parts. I also believe that a new shared modular cab platform should be engineered; engineered in a smart way to share components while maintaining a completely unique style and function for each brand. Not that hard to do in today’s world. I am not sure why any Mack customer would be upset to have a new cab platform designed with input from Volvo Engineers. The Volvo Cab is probably the most durable and safe architecture on the road, it has a cult aftermarket following. Cabs are purchased after their lives here in the states, and then shipped to under developed countries to be used in a second life filled with torturous environments. A Steel architecture cab that is much stronger than the competitors. As mentioned above, the Mack product already has, and will continue to, gain powertrain technology from a global parent company that sells over 200,000 class eight trucks world wide each year. Not to mention similar diesel platforms in their Marine sector. These are some of the synergies that I think need to be explored to create a healthy Mack brand as well as a healthy Volvo Brand. Synergies that I am sure were the driving force behind the announcements made last week. Some of the things that I think should be/will be separated & segregated by brand are: Upper Brand Management, Sales & Marketing, Styling, and Chassis Engineering. It makes perfect sense to have a Vocational Chassis Engineering department filled by Mack engineers that have a reputation for building the most rugged durable chassis platforms on the planet; complemented by a separate Highway Chassis engineering group filled by Volvo Engineers that have a reputation for building the most comfortable highway tractors on the market. So, a lot of people have posted some very negative things on this message board; understandably so, if their lives are being adversely affected by these decisions that were announced last week. The truth is, from a product standpoint, there is a lot to be gained if people are treated fairly and this transition is managed properly. Take Care, VOLVO -niphilli
