Volvo Maskin Service in Norway

Twenty years ago, Caterpillar dominated the market for wheel loaders in Norway. Today, the situation is totally different. Volvo CE now has a market share of more than 70 per cent.

Jon Vislie greeted the Volvo Global Magazine team with a huge smile, when we arrived at his office just outside Oslo. It is easy to feel happy when you meet him. He radiates enormous energy,
which is incredibly contagious.

“We have built things up stone by stone and have focused consciously on service. This is a really worthwhile approach,” says Jon Vislie at Volvo Maskin Service.


Facts about Volvo Maskin Service

• The company has 335 employees, about two thirds of whom are mechanics, while the remainder are involved in sales and administration. The sales staff are based throughout the country and do most of their work from home.
• Volvo Maskin Service has workshops in 16 places all over Norway, plus 135 fully equipped service vehicles.
• The company has 13,000 Volvo machines, first and foremost excavators and wheel loaders, in operation.
• Its target is to increase the sale of parts and service from EUR 70 million in 2008 to EUR 90 million in 2012.
• It bases its work on three principles: interest (in its customers and their business), availability (offers service throughout the country) and problem-free ownership (the customers must feel secure).
• Volvo Maskin Service dominates the market in Norway when it comes to excavators and wheel loader

Volvo Maskin Service sells construction equipment all over Norway and it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Volvo Construction Equipment. As far as Jon Vislie and his colleagues are concerned, their work does not end when a machine is sold. It is at that point that their involvement actually begins.

“It’s our job to live with our customers and their business. When they buy a machine, they have to be able to rely on us to provide the service they need,” he says and gives an example.

“If a customer calls and asks for help, we don’t say ‘Sorry, we can’t do that tomorrow, but we could do it the day after tomorrow?’. Our answer is ‘No problem, we’ll fix it the day after tomorrow’. Can you hear the difference? It’s a question of attitude and of never starting with the word ‘can’t.”