LOUISVILLE, KY -- Peterbilt has added a record number of 93 new dealers to its network over the past four years. In addition, many existing locations have been expanded or upgraded, vastly enhancing the responsiveness and coverage of the network, Peterbilt said at the press conference here at the Mid-America Trucking Show.

“Peterbilt has greatly increased our footprint in the industry to the benefit of our customers,” says Robert Woodall, Peterbilt assistant general manager of Sales and Marketing. “The network expansion results in higher levels of service and enhanced parts availability, which translates into increased uptime and greater profitability for Peterbilt customers.”

The dealer groups are committed to growing their footprint to support customers and to deliver the highest levels of service and support.

“New capabilities and expanded service bay count will also contribute to enhanced customer satisfaction," noted Peyton Harrell, Peterbilt director of dealer network development. "All Peterbilt dealerships throughout the U.S. and Canada are now certified in the Rapid Check program, which guarantees fast and accurate service diagnostics.”

To keep product flowing smoothly to those new dealer locations, the company has just completed a major expansion of its Denton, Texas manufacturing facility.

“The expansion investment is the largest made by Peterbilt since the plant construction,” said Leon Handt, assistant general manager of operations at Peterbilt. “We’re committed to manufacturing the industry’s highest quality vehicles. Growing the Denton plant’s footprint allows us to increase our manufacturing efficiency and positions us for future growth.”

The final expansion phase concluded in January with the opening of a new 102,000 square-foot Test Building. All testing and validation have been relocated to the new test building, which allows a more efficient process flow.

The building features a new dynamometer capable of handling all truck configurations, as well as two new paint booths. Total test capacity has been increased by 75 percent, Peterbilt says.

The Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS) is located in the building’s second level above the cab and sleeper trim sections. The system has enough capacity to hold 400 painted hoods, sleepers and cabs.

The opening of the test building and start of operations of the ASRS mark the conclusion of the three-phase expansion project started in 2015 to increase efficiency and quality throughout the Peterbilt Denton plant. In 2015, new shipping and receiving docks were added to the East and West sides of the plant in the first phase of the project.

With the conclusion of all three phases, the production square footage of the plant has increased to 600,000 square feet.