Electric agitators to hit the road

Unicon, the largest producer and supplier of ready-mixed concrete in Denmark, intends to place the largest private single order to date for electric trucks that will run on Danish roads.

The 11 Volvo FM Electric trucks will start being delivered later this year. In addition, Unicon and Volvo Trucks have agreed on a long-term collaboration that aims to develop complete truck and body electric solutions for the concrete industry.

After gaining experience with a Volvo FE Electric, Unicon is now taking the next big step towards emission-free distribution by introducing a new generation of electric concrete agitators with longer range and higher payload. To achieve this, the company intends to place the country's largest private single order to date for 11 Volvo FM Electric models that will be converted to agitators.

Unicon and Volvo Trucks have entered into a long-term collaboration to implement and optimise electric solutions for the concrete industry. The collaboration aims to give Unicon the opportunity to put electric trucks into operation that match all needs for the ready-mixed concrete.

“With this major order and ambitious collaboration agreement, we are putting tangible actions behind our CO2 emission targets for our distribution. We are very much looking forward to this collaboration with Volvo Trucks, which gives us unique opportunities to jointly develop the right complete truck and body electric solutions for our distribution,” explains Christian Elleby, Supply Chain & Procurement Director at Unicon.

The record Danish order for electric trucks is remarkable because heavy vehicles for the concrete industry are among the most difficult to electrify.

According to Peter Ericson, Managing Director of Volvo Trucks in Denmark, this is a significant and forward-looking collaboration, which they expect a lot from: “With these agreements, we are taking important steps in expanding fossil-free distribution solutions to the concrete industry, where electrification of heavy vehicles has been a very difficult challenge due to the heavy loads and continuous mixing demands.

“We are pleased to have Unicon on board as a strategic partner and we expect a lot of learning and development as a result of the collaboration for the benefit of an entire industry, Mr Ericson said.”

Unicon believes that electric concrete trucks offer the most obvious technology for achieving ambitious sustainability goals. This applies both in relation to supporting emission-free distribution of ready-mixed concrete and for creating a better and even safer working environment on construction sites.

Unicon is Denmark's oldest and largest producer and supplier of ready-mixed concrete with 35 factories and more than 400 employees throughout the country. It produces about 1 million cubic meters of concrete annually and has its own fleet of 195 trucks.

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