The signs reading "Volvo" over the truck manufacturer's Dublin, Va., assembly plant will soon come down.
In their place, Pulaski County's largest employer will erect new signs: "New River Valley Plant: Volvo, Mack, Autocar."
Gilbert Passin, the Dublin plant's new vice president and general manager, told the Roanoke Times the new signs represent the Virginia plant's "multi-brand" identity.
Last year, Volvo Trucks North America -- the second-largest heavy truck maker in the world -- purchased one of its main competitors, Mack Trucks. Nine months later, Volvo announced it would close a Mack plant in Winnsboro, S.C., and move the work to its 293-acre complex in Dublin. The New River Valley plant is also under contract to produce White Motors' Autocar.
The company hopes to have its 250,000-square-foot Mack assembly line up and running in Dublin by mid-month. The plant will produce Mack's CH and Vision series over-the-road tractors. Trucks off the new assembly line will meet new federal emissions standards for diesel engines, which took effect in October. The plant has already produced its first Volvo VN series trucks to meet the new standards.
Of the 750 workers at the South Carolina plant, approximately 35 to 50 supervisors and managers have transferred to the New River Valley plant. Passin and Volvo spokesman Jim McNamara said it's premature to predict whether the new assembly line will result in a significant recall of the more than 1,700 jobs cut at the Dublin plant since 1999. The company did bring back more than 140 workers earlier this year to help meet combined orders of 3,777 trucks for Knight Transportation, Tyson Foods Inc. and U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc.
At its peak in the late 1990s, the Volvo plant averaged 60 trucks a day. The Mack plant averaged 55 a day.
"It's still going to be a challenging market," McNamara said. "Truck manufacturing tracks very closely with the overall economy."
The Dublin plant has produced almost 300,000 trucks since Volvo purchased White Motor Co. in 1981.
In 2000, the company finished a $148-million expansion. The nine-building complex includes administrative offices, warehouses, two assembly plants and a paint shop.
In their place, Pulaski County's largest employer will erect new signs: "New River Valley Plant: Volvo, Mack, Autocar."
Gilbert Passin, the Dublin plant's new vice president and general manager, told the Roanoke Times the new signs represent the Virginia plant's "multi-brand" identity.
Last year, Volvo Trucks North America -- the second-largest heavy truck maker in the world -- purchased one of its main competitors, Mack Trucks. Nine months later, Volvo announced it would close a Mack plant in Winnsboro, S.C., and move the work to its 293-acre complex in Dublin. The New River Valley plant is also under contract to produce White Motors' Autocar.
The company hopes to have its 250,000-square-foot Mack assembly line up and running in Dublin by mid-month. The plant will produce Mack's CH and Vision series over-the-road tractors. Trucks off the new assembly line will meet new federal emissions standards for diesel engines, which took effect in October. The plant has already produced its first Volvo VN series trucks to meet the new standards.
Of the 750 workers at the South Carolina plant, approximately 35 to 50 supervisors and managers have transferred to the New River Valley plant. Passin and Volvo spokesman Jim McNamara said it's premature to predict whether the new assembly line will result in a significant recall of the more than 1,700 jobs cut at the Dublin plant since 1999. The company did bring back more than 140 workers earlier this year to help meet combined orders of 3,777 trucks for Knight Transportation, Tyson Foods Inc. and U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc.
At its peak in the late 1990s, the Volvo plant averaged 60 trucks a day. The Mack plant averaged 55 a day.
"It's still going to be a challenging market," McNamara said. "Truck manufacturing tracks very closely with the overall economy."
The Dublin plant has produced almost 300,000 trucks since Volvo purchased White Motor Co. in 1981.
In 2000, the company finished a $148-million expansion. The nine-building complex includes administrative offices, warehouses, two assembly plants and a paint shop.
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