Jul 21, 2010 11:32 AM

Production of the 300,000th Volvo Group 13-Liter heavy-duty diesel engine was celebrated July 15 during an event in Hagerstown MD, recognizing both the North American team that assembled it and the customer who will put it into service.

Volvo 13-Liter engine production began in Skövde, Sweden, in 2005, and today the engines are also assembled in Curitiba, Brazil, as well as Hagerstown.

The 300,000th Volvo 13-Liter, a 500-hp D13 engine, was recently assembled at the Volvo Powertrain plant in Hagerstown, and placed in a new VN780 chassis at Volvo Trucks’ New River Valley assembly plant. The completed truck was delivered back to Hagerstown and presented to its new owner—Abilene Motor Express of Richmond VA—during the July 15 recognition event.

During the July 15 ceremony, Denny Slagle, president and chief executive officer of Volvo Trucks North America, presented the milestone vehicle’s keys to Abilene’s president, Keith Jones, who has been operating Volvo vehicles since 1999. Abilene’s Class 8 fleet includes 140 VN780s, with more than 50 EPA10 versions either in service or soon to be so.