Volvo Penta Conducts Industrial Engine Training in Alaska

Volvo Penta of the Americas recently conducted two customized training courses for its industrial engine business in Alaska. The sessions were held in Anchorage and at the Pogo Mine near Delta Junction.

Twelve technicians, representing Delta Industrial Services Inc., Matson-Dutch Harbor, Tyler Rental Inc. and Sandvik, attended the first course, held June 25-27 in Anchorage. Over the three days, they received comprehensive training on Volvo Penta’s industrial diesels, including product knowledge, troubleshooting, diagnostics and servicing the equipment. An assessment test was given to the technicians at the end of the course, with all receiving their certifications.

The second training session was held on June 29 at the Pogo Mine in Alaska’s interior, about 350 miles northeast of Anchorage. Owned and operated by Sumitomo Metal Mining Pogo LLC, the gold mine has more than 90 miles of underground roads at depths of more than 1000 ft.

In an onsite conference area, Delta Industrial and Pogo technicians trained on diagnostic tools for the engines and after-treatment systems used in the mine’s high-capacity loaders.

“This was the first time we have conducted training courses in Alaska, which is a rapidly growing market for our industrial engines,” said Magnus Gedda, manager of product training for Volvo Penta of the Americas. “The primary purpose of the training is to support our dealers in Alaska by making sure our partner technicians are up to speed with the latest Volvo Penta technologies.

“The Pogo Mine is one of the harshest environments in the world, located in an extremely remote site. If one machine goes down, it’s an urgent repair because it impacts other machines that are part of the mining process. The training is aimed to make sure technicians know how to diagnose the situation quickly and respond immediately.”

Volvo Penta of the Americas said it offers a wide selection of training courses for service technicians, which are held at the company’s training center in Chesapeake, Virginia, and at remote locations in strategic areas to provide more choices for dealers and customers to attend. The company said it trained more than 1200 technicians across all business segments in 2017.