Mack Trucks Inc. officially opened the doors to a new Mack Customer Center during the company's World Sales Conference, which is expected to draw 1,000 dealer people here October 26-28.


Mack remains commited to Allentown and the Lehigh Valley, executives said, even though it moved its headquarters to Greensboro, N.C., last year.

The center encompasses 159,000 square feet on 65 acres formerly used as Mack's test facility. It will provide "the ultimate Mack experience" for truck dealers and customers. It is located 20 minutes from the assembly plant in Macungie, Pa.

"The Mack Customer Center is an important new tool for the company," said Mike Reardon, vice president, marketing. "It gives us a powerful way to immerse customers from North America and around the world in the products, history and culture of the Mack brand."

Created inside the company's former engineering development and test center, the facility includes a product showroom, an 18,000-square-foot modification center and a two-lane, .73 mile oval track, allowing customers to put their vehicles to the test. The track has multiple grades, on- and off-road durability courses and a skid pad.

Inside, customers can relax, meet and work in a comfortable reception area or at the "Bulldog Café, and test-drive trucks on an oval track behind the building. The center will open to the public on November 1.

"The Allentown-Lehigh Valley region is where we continue to bring customers for the true Mack brand experience," Reardon said. "They can visit our Macungie Assembly Operations, where all Mack trucks are now built, and see the quality, care and pride that goes into every truck we build.
"With the new Mack Customer Center now just minutes away, customers can also test drive trucks, and be immersed in the history and culture of the Mack brand - see where we've been, but also where we're going in terms of new models and emerging technologies and trends."

The 2010 Mack World Sales Conference is attracting more than 1,000 dealer sales personnel, customers and press writers to the opening of the center. During the conference, attendees will also hear from Mack officials about the company's competitive position.

"This conference comes at a time when we're seeing positive signs in the market," Reardon said. "Customer response to our new EPA2010 trucks - the cleanest in the world - continues to be very positive, particularly when it comes to fuel efficiency and performance.

"We recently put an additional 125 people to work in our Macungie plant to support an increase in orders. This event gives us the chance to make sure we're fully prepared to ramp up across the organization. It's a very exciting time to be part of Mack."

The conference includes workshops and product demonstrations. Included subjects are ClearTech SCR emissions reduction, mDrive automated manual transmission, recent enhancements to Mack's vocational and highway trucks, and innovative customer support systems and products.

"It's an important event for us and for the Lehigh Valley," said Reardon. "Our investment in the new Mack Customer Center and our decision to have our World Sales Conference here are indicative of how important Allentown and the Lehigh Valley will continue to be for Mack, our dealers, and our customers."