At a time when most trucking companies have been cutting truck production in response to a slump in sales, Mack Trucks announced it is increasing production at its assembly facility in Macungie, Pa.

The increase, scheduled for next month, is in response to a strong increase in orders for the company's new line of Granite construction vehicles.
The average daily production rate at the Macungie plant, now at 48 vehicles a day, will increase in two steps - to 50 trucks a day on Feb. 18, and then to 52 trucks a day on Feb. 25.
"There's been a surge of orders for Mack construction trucks in December and January, which is good news considering the weakness in the heavy-duty truck market overall in the past year," says Mack President and CEO Paul Vikner. "Specifically, we're seeing a lot of interest in our new Granite series models. In fact, nearly half the orders in the last month for trucks manufactured at Macungie were for Granite models," he said.
The Granite series was introduced in 2001 as the next generation of Mack vehicles for the construction truck market - a segment in which Mack traditionally has been very strong.

For more on the Mack Granite, see "Mack Rolls Out Full Granite Range," 6/245/2001.