Staff report
Daimler Trucks North America LLC observed the grand opening of its $300 million plant in Saltillo, Mexico, Tuesday.
The plant will manufacture Freightliner’s new flagship Cascadia truck, the same truck produced at Freightliner’s plant in Cleveland.
According to Freightliner, the Mexico plant is expected to employ 1,414 workers. The plant measures 1.3 million square feet, and includes everything from a pre-delivery inspection/transporter center to a test track.
Freightliner officials said the plant was sited in Saltillo for logistical advantages including proximity to raw materials, suppliers, customers, roads and rails. The plant is built on a 740-acre greenfield site. It will produce up to 30,000 Cascadias annually.
The truck will be introduced to the Mexican market late this year.
According to Freightliner officials, the Cleveland Truck Manufacturing Plant remains the primary plant for the Cascadia product, though the plant plans to eliminate its second-shift this spring.
A Freightliner spokeswoman said last month the Cleveland plant will remain the chief production plant for the Cascadia for “the foreseeable future.”
Freightliner officials have said the Mexico plant was necessary to deal with a changing market, and said orders for Class 8 Freightliner trucks were down 40 percent this past January versus January 2008. They said even the January 2008 sales were off considerably from the 2004-2006 market.
The Saltillo plant is the second Daimler Trucks manufacturing facility in Mexico, joining the Santiago Tianguistenco plant, which produces Freightliner-branded heavy- and medium-duty trucks for domestic Mexico sales.
“We are truly a global company, and our continuing focus is to ensure the company’s long-term health for all of our many stakeholders,” Nielson said.