Volvo Construction Equip?ment?s (Volvo CE?s) President and CEO, Pat Olney, outlined the progress on the company?s investment plans for North America. He also stated that Volvo has taken the lead in introducing environ?mentally friendly Tier-4 interim/Stage IIIB compliant products in North America, with the successful launch of new gene?rations of machines affected by the legislation. ?North America is far from being at full strength, but from a low level we are cautiously optimistic and believe our previous forecast for growth of between 25-35 percent in 2011 to be accurate,? said Olney. ?The recovery in South America is more robust, with strong growth occurring across the whole of the continent ? increasing by up to 20 percent this year. ?To meet this heightened demand across the two continents, we are investing in our production and supplier capability in North and South America, allowing us to make more machines locally, design them to better meet local needs and supply them more quickly to customers. We are confident that the visible investment commitments we are making will afford us a more significant share of these markets.?  Volvo CE is spending $100 million in a product and manufacturing expansion programme at its North American facilities. ?This development will create a major global hub for the company,? continued Olney.  ?We are outperforming the market conditions by offering a young fleet of innovative products tailored to meet the needs of specific customer groups, combined with a strong and loyal distribution network and a substantial investment programme. We have made a strong commitment to North America and regard it as a core market for the company.?