Robin Müller from Germany beat 22 other competitors from 11 countries in a gruelling series of tests at the Volvo Customer Centre in Eskilstuna, Sweden, to be named Europe’s best operator for the second year running.
From left to right: Niels Kuipers (NL), Robin Müller (DE) and Per Ovesen (DK)
On Saturday 5 October, 22 of Europe’s most skilled construction machine operators – including last year’s winner Robin Müller from Germany – gathered at the Volvo Customer Centre in Eskilstuna, Sweden, for the industry’s toughest test of precision operation, the Volvo Operators Club final. The event is the culmination of a year of local competitions held by 11 Volvo Operators Club chapters in Europe – Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey and Belgium – and aims to celebrate talent and expertise in the construction equipment operator profession at the highest level.
It is worth noting that the first woman in the 25-year history of the Operators Club participated in this year’s competition. Phebe Taelman from Belgium qualified for Matexpo in September and has been operating excavators since the age of six.
During the day, the competitors took part in three timed tests with penalties for mistakes. The highest scoring operators were then invited to compete in a semi-final and super final to determine the best of the best.
Robin Müller from Germany came first, followed by Niels Kuipers from the Netherlands and Per Ovesen from Denmark.
Robin also won the competition in 2023 on his first attempt, successfully defending his title in 2024. The 30-year-old father of two is a third-generation owner of a construction equipment business. “I’m impressed with the Operators Club experience, especially because we had the opportunity to be in Sweden, the home of Volvo CE,” says Robin. “The set-up with testing all the machines in the Customer Centre and the opportunity to take part in the track experience the day before made the overall event excellent. I really enjoyed the atmosphere with all the finalists and the team spirit throughout the competition.”
Keeping competitors alert
The Volvo Operators Club’s 25th anniversary final in 2023 included only electric machines, demonstrating Volvo Construction Equipment’s commitment to sustainability and vision for a zero-emission construction industry. This year’s competition gave participants the opportunity to experience some of Volvo CE’s latest next-generation machines, such as the L30 compact wheel loader, EC230 excavator and EC400 excavator, which was unveiled at the Volvo Days customer event in Sweden in June. “It is important for us to mix the machines used in the challenges every year to keep competitors on their toes and ensure that our winner is truly the most skilled and versatile operator across all types of equipment,” explains Hanna Jaschke, responsible for the Operators Club at Volvo CE.
The 2024 challenges
In the first test, called “The Hauler Lane”, the contestants had to complete a series of manoeuvres with an A25G articulated truck and finish by placing the pointer attached to the front of the machine as close as possible to the centre of a bull’s eye.
Then, in the “Threaded rod” test, operators had to gently unscrew a threaded rod and move it to a new position 180° to the right using the bucket of the EC230 excavator.
Then, in the third qualification test, “The brick wall”, the contestants had to use a stick attached to the pallet forks of an L120H wheel loader to knock down 10 bricks mounted on a wall structure.
After these initial challenges, the 10 operators with the fastest times navigated the semi-final “obstacle course” on the L30, carrying a pallet with a basketball.
The five best contestants then took part in the super final “Guess the weight” using the EC400, where they had to load 15 tonnes of material onto the back of an articulated conveyor without relying on the on-board weighing system
Familiarization and fun on the World RX test track
To ensure fairness, contestants were given the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the machines the day before, where they were free to try them out at will. As a warm-up, they also participated in a fun competition in the Rallycross Test Lab at the GTR Motor Park near the Volvo Customer Centre. This race track was developed specifically by Volvo CE to support its work as the official construction equipment supplier and track construction partner of the FIA’s all-electric World Rallycross Championship (World RX).
“To see such incredible skill and precision from operators across Europe is truly inspiring,” concludes Hanna Jaschke. “This competition not only celebrates the best in our industry, but also highlights the adaptability required in today’s evolving construction landscape. Congratulations to all participants for their outstanding performances and especially to this year’s winner Robin Müller for demonstrating such remarkable talent on a variety of machines.”
