Bolinder-Munktell

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AB Bolinder-Munktell (BM) was a tractor and machines manufactorer founded in Eskilstuna, Sweden in 1932 through the merger of the mechanical companies Bolinder and Munktell. In 1950 BM was bought by AB Volvo and the name was changed first to BM-Volvo and then in 1973 to Volvo-BM and then again in 1995 to Volvo Construction Equipment.

The product range has changed with the times. Up to the beginning of the 20th century agricultural machinery, such as threshers were an important product. Tractor production commenced in 1913, with type 30-40. Tractors were the main product up to the 1970s. The tractors gained an unsurpassed reputation for durability. During World War II, Bolinder-Munktell, at the request of the Swedish authorities, built Daimler Benz DB601 aeroplane engines under licence. An entire underground factory at Eskiltuna was built to accommodate this factory. Owing to the superior reliability of the Swedish built engines the Swedish airforce issued instructions that for two engined aircraft, at least one engine should be a Swedish built unit.^{[citation needed]} From the 1950s on new products in the loader and excavator categories emerged. These were initially based on their tractor chassis. Soon the excavators and loaders become the dominant product range and remain so today. Other products developed in the 1960 and still in production are articulated dump trucks.

[edit] History

Bolinder-Munktell traces its origins to the engineering workshops Munktells Mekaniska Verkstad (established in Eskilstuna in 1832) and J. & C.G. Bolinders Mekaniska Verkstad (established in Stockholm in 1845). In 1950 the main shareholder Handelsbanken sold its shares to Volvo who turned the company in to a subsidiary.