Machines in the Volvo Certified Used (VCU) program go through a rigorous inspection process, giving customers confidence in what they‘re buying.

“The construction industry has seen an increase in used equipment purchases in recent years, and the trend has accelerated in 2020 with the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. With a Volvo Certified Used machine, you know exactly what you’re getting so it makes that decision easier.”

said Tara Stryker, Director of Used Equipment, Sales Region Americas for Volvo CE.

What VCU Means to Customers

At Volvo Certified Used Centers, off-lease Volvo equipment undergoes a rigorous 140-plus point inspection from certified dealer technicians and is refurbished to OEM standards using genuine parts. All factory updates are completed, and the machines are packaged with a 6-month/1,200-hour Powertrain warranty. The certified machines also come with a free one-year subscription to the ActiveCare Direct telematics service, and they qualify for Volvo’s Lifetime Frame and Structure Warranty.

The entire process is overseen by Volvo CE in partnership with the dealerships, which own and operate the centers — putting people who know the equipment in charge. This is different from many competitors’ programs that are run by the financial arm of the company.

“We run this program like we’re spending the customer’s money, and we won’t spend their dollars unwisely. We’re committed to lowering the total cost of ownership for our customers.”

said Stryker.

A prime location

The Southeast U.S. has more Volvo pre-owned equipment than any other region in the country, which is a major reason the Jacksonville location made sense for the new VCU Center. Alta also puts a priority on remarketing equipment, and the Jacksonville site has convenient interstate and airport access.

 “We want to be a leader in used equipment. Becoming a VCU Center helps us further establish ourselves as that leader in the Southeast.”

said Tommy Ball, Senior Vice President at Alta.

Alta invested in major facility upgrades for the transition, including clearing land; installing a track press, paint booth, sandblaster, and wash rack; and performing electrical and plumbing updates. Employees have been to other locations for training, and additional painters and mechanics are being hired.

Volvo continues to evaluate future Volvo Certified Used Center locations with dealerships across the U.S. and Canada.

Source: Volvo CE

The post Volvo CE Expands Certified Used Centers with new Southeastern US Location appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

Extending battery life is a key goal for many rental companies as battery issues are one of the main drivers of service calls, and one of the largest contributors to a rental company’s cost of ownership. Skyjack’s Elevate BMS means that rental companies can benefit without resorting to expensive and complex alternatives, such as anti-sulfation over-charging. It also allows for a fleet-wide solution for industry-standard lead-acid battery packs without the added expense of new battery technology.

Elevate BMS provides the tools in clear and simple terms to measure battery pack treatment while in the field. These actionable insights can be applied to existing rental business processes, having an immediate impact reducing how often rental companies have to replace batteries. This management by measurement is a critical missing piece to increasing rental companies’ overall return on investment on electric-powered machines.

“Since the inception of the ELEVATE telematics package, Skyjack have focused on actionable insights and so ELEVATE BMS is integrated into all ELEVATE software including Skyjack’s new ELEVATE Live,”

explains Malcolm Early, vice president of marketing at Skyjack.

“We identified that batteries are currently sitting at an average battery life that is only half their potential. Getting these insights into the hands of all industry roles is critical to meeting that potential.”

Following the launch of its ELEVATE telematics package Skyjack has found that most of Skyjack’s customers are choosing to share their data with the OEM, which enables Skyjack to dig into how equipment is being used on-site. Through the support and collaborative partnership with its customers, Skyjack was able to launch a data science study analyzing how equipment is used, and how behavior surrounding that can be improved. This study helped identify the issues and inform the development of the ELEVATE BMS product.

“We’ve taken what can be a complex problem, broken it down into its fundamental components, and we’ve learned some valuable things from this exercise. This study involves two years of aggregated global telematics data, with over 84 million data points,”

explains David Swan, technology product manager at Skyjack.

“What we have developed is an algorithm that can successfully identify the different features of charging data with high accuracy, which requires effectively understanding and interpreting all of the edge cases of those features.”

Through this study of battery pack charging behavior the following insights were revealed:

• 75% of battery charges are less than 2.75 hours
• Batteries only receive ONE full charge a month
• The type of the battery is not the only thing limiting its lifespan; it is the lack of insight to how that battery is treated that leads to premature battery failure and an inflated cost of ownership
• Even the most technologically advanced battery underperforms if it is treated poorly

“Looking at the results from the study it’s clear that there is a lot of opportunity for better practices and greater profitability with rental companies current stock of lead-acid batteries,”

Swan continues.

“A lot of that opportunity is at the operator level and that’s why we incorporated ELEVATE BMS into our new ELEVATE Live product where the emphasis is on changing charging behavior through active on screen prompts directed toward the operator.”

Source: Skyjack

The post Skyjack Develops the New Elevate Battery Management System appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

• DataConnect: The data interface project recently announced by CLAAS, John Deere and 365FarmNet to enable mixed-fleet users to enable the exchange of machine data now includes Case IH, STEYR and New Holland brands; and
• DKE Agrirouter: CNH Industrial will join this universal data transfer hub, that currently includes 17 OEM brands and more than 30 digital service providers, to enable customers to exchange task data between brands.

The post CNH Industrial brings Mixed-Fleet Connectivity appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.