Freightliner LLC said 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.
"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 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.
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.