Diamond International of Memphis, a local International commercial truck dealership, has completed the final phase of its $6 million facilities expansion and is open for business.

To support business growth and service innovations, Diamond International purchased the adjacent 5-acre property in February 2009 and began extensive renovations on the site's two buildings in April. With the additional property, Diamond doubled its size at the corner of Brooks and Millbranch Roads.

Dick Sweebe, Diamond Companies President and CEO, and his staff in Memphis enhanced their expansion plan by studying how technicians worked on trucks.

"Diamond International is adopting a continuous improvement methodology called 'LEAN' to make sure we always provide a higher standard of value in our service department," Sweebe said.

Teams of dealership service technicians and support personnel were formed and team leaders were trained in LEAN principles. The teams identified processes and routines where changes could save time and increase quality.

"We were very impressed with the teams' work and approved a number of recommendations immediately," Sweebe notes. "The suggested improvements were common sense and they helped us re-invent how we perform service and repairs for our customers. I'm pleased to say, we have developed new methods to serve customers more accurately and more quickly."

With the doubling of the original footprint in the parts and service departments, the dealership now has the space to offer Accelerated Service--a new process from Navistar that provides quick diagnostics and reduced repair times on common services.

Accelerated Service offers customers immediate vehicle evaluation by a diagnostic technician, identification of required parts and availability, and communication about the repair required and estimated repair time-all within two hours of a vehicle's arrival at the dealership. A brief survey assesses the customer's satisfaction after the repair is complete. Diamond International has dedicated a service bay for Accelerated Service in Memphis.

Diamond International of Memphis is a wholly owned subsidiary of Diamond Companies. With more than 600 employees, and 16 locations in 13 markets spanning four states, Diamond Companies is one of the largest International Truck dealers in North America.