Daimler Trucks North America has added a second shift and plans to ramp up production at its Portland Truck Manufacturing Plant in Portland, Ore., creating approximately 350 new jobs at the facility by the end of 2012.


The additional workers represent a nearly 50% increase in personnel at the plant and will include approximately 330 shop employees, and an additional 20 engineering and support positions to facilitate increased production.

The Swan Island facility exclusively produces heavy-duty Western Star brand Class 8 trucks for use in mining, logging, oil field and construction, as well as on-highway trucks and other specialized vehicles. Western Star represents about 2% of North American truck sales. DTNA's Western Star launched its newest vehicle, the 4700, earlier this year.

The increase in production capacity and hiring comes in response to a strong and steady rise in Western Star orders throughout 2011 and company expectations for continued growth in 2012. Western Star trucks are sold internationally with key sales in the U.S., Canada, Australia, South America, South Africa and Indonesia. The Portland plant currently employs approximately 700 shop employees and 50 engineers, managers and support staff.

"We are delighted to be able to make this announcement today here in Portland and proud of the achievements of our Western Star workforce. The growing demand for our Western Star products is testimony to our brand focus on premium customer specifications combined with our leading powertrain technology," said Martin Daum, president and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America LLC.

The current hiring activity is the first time since 2006 that DTNA has had open-market hiring for shop positions at this plant. Hiring of new employees will begin in November and the new production shift is slated to be at full capacity by February 2012. A second wave of hiring is planned for next summer to support the projected increase in demand.