Freightliner LLC Announces Construction of New Truck Manufacturing Plant in Mexico
20 Décembre 2006 - 2:09PM
PR Newswire (US)
-- $300 million facility will be located in Saltillo and produce up
to 30,000 Freightliner and Sterling trucks annually PORTLAND, Ore.,
Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Freightliner LLC announced today
that it plans to construct a new $300 million truck manufacturing
plant in Saltillo, Coahuila, in northern Mexico. Dedicated to the
production of Freightliner and Sterling trucks, the new facility
will provide additional capacity to accommodate Freightliner's
long-range product planning including an expected upturn in
industry demand in 2009. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020212/DCXLOGO ) "This new
facility underscores our confidence in the NAFTA truck market, and
our bullish mid-term outlook for industry recovery post-2007," said
Freightliner LLC President and CEO, Chris Patterson. "Frankly, we
were not able to produce what we could have sold in 2006 due to
capacity constraints. We expect another surge in customer demand in
2009 prior to the next round of EPA emissions regulations, and the
construction of this new plant will ensure that we are fully
prepared." The Saltillo plant is the second Freightliner LLC
manufacturing facility to be located in Mexico, joining the
Santiago Tianguistenco plant which produces Freightliner-branded
heavy- and medium-duty trucks for domestic Mexico sales as well as
export to Latin America, the United States and Canada. The new one
million square foot facility in Saltillo is conveniently located
near an existing Chrysler plant, which offers opportunities for
synergy such as the extension of a supplier park and railroad
terminal. A professional supplier base and vastly improved
logistics infrastructure have made Mexico a popular choice for many
NAFTA-based truck manufacturing companies and suppliers. "Five
major U.S.-based OEM's now have Mexican manufacturing capability,
including Freightliner LLC," said Roger Nielsen, Chief Operating
Officer. "DaimlerChrysler has had excellent success in recent years
with quality, cost and efficiency through our Mexican operations,
and we fully expect the new plant in Saltillo to set benchmark
standards for DaimlerChrysler Truck Group manufacturing facilities
worldwide." "Today, we begin a new chapter in DaimlerChrysler's
Global Excellence strategy," said Andreas Renschler, Member of the
DaimlerChrysler Board of Management responsible for the Truck Group
& Buses. "Freightliner LLC has been a pillar of performance and
profitability for the Truck Group and DaimlerChrysler. We are
pleased to support this expansion of Freightliner's manufacturing
network which is an important step towards the optimal global
production network for the Truck Group." The 740 acre site will
also include a PDI/transporter center and test track, as well as
room for future expansion. The plant could produce up to 30,000
trucks annually, and employ up to 1,600 production and management
personnel. Groundbreaking is planned for the second quarter of
2007, with start of production planned for early 2009. Company
executives are working closely with federal and state officials in
Mexico to bring this major project to fruition. "We are honored and
delighted to welcome Freightliner to Saltillo," said Governor
Humberto Moreira. "This will be a tremendous economic boost to the
state of Coahuila and will become a shaping force to consolidate
the expansion of the automotive cluster in the State," added
Moreira. The plant will generate approximately 1,600 jobs directly
as well as an additional 1,100 jobs within the local Mexican
supplier base. "Under the Administration of President Felipe
Calderon, this project becomes an icon of Mexico's capability to
attract leading companies in automotive manufacturing," said Dr.
Eduardo Sojo, Secretary of Economy. Freightliner LLC, headquartered
in Portland, Oregon is the leading medium- and heavy-duty truck
manufacturer in North America. Freightliner produces and markets
Class 5 - 8 vehicles and is part of DaimlerChrysler's Truck Group,
the world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020212/DCXLOGO DATASOURCE:
DaimlerChrysler AG CONTACT: Amy Sills, Freightliner LLC,
+1-503-745-8535; or Han Tjan, DaimlerChrysler, +1-212-909-9063 Web
site: http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/
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