Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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34 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JUNE 2015 EQUIPMENT Daimler Trucks North America in April announced plans to increase production and employment levels at its truck manu- facturing plant in Mt. Holly, N.C., over a three-month period. The plant is adding an entire third shift to its operations and plans to fi ll the additional 580 manufacturing and 25 related supervisory, engineering and administrative positions by mid-July. The plant manufactures 108SD and 114SD trucks for severe-duty vocational markets and M2 Business Class medium-duty diesel- and natural gas-powered trucks. Earlier, the company announced new option packages for the Class 6/7 M2, including Allison Transmission's FuelSense technology with the 220-hp Cummins ISB6.7 for pickup-and-delivery applications. Also new are "driver re- tention" premium interior and "professional image" exterior enhancement packages. FreightlinerTrucks.com As 2014 began, Blue Max Trucking president Denton Williams had realized that contractors near the company's headquar- ters in Charlotte, N.C., were ramping up commercial and public construction projects, which would involve Blue Max's primary businesses as a mostly dump truck fl eet. "We wanted a truck that offered drivers a comfortable work environment and could lower our fuel bills," Williams says. "We also wanted a truck that would refl ect well on our company's image and would be supported by a network of reliable dealerships." MHC Kenworth's Charlotte location invited Williams to a customer event in Phoenix where he formed his fi rst impres- sions of the heavy-haul T880 while driving on a test track and an offroad course. Impressed by the truck's visibility and handling characteristics, Blue Max spec'd 38 T880s with dump bodies and 380-hp Paccar MX-13 engines, providing 1,450 lb.-ft. of torque driven through Allison 4500 RDS 6-speed automatic transmissions. The company also spec'd four T880 tractors equipped with 455-hp MX-13 engines and 10-speed Eaton UltraShift Plus transmissions. Kenworth.com N.C. dump fleet invests in public construction boom Blue Max Trucking aggressively invested in additional capacity, purchasing 42 units of Kenworth's heavy-haul T880. Daimler expanding severe-duty, vocational production CCJ Executive Editor Jack Roberts test-drove this Freightliner 108SD dump earlier this year. To read his report from the run, search "Texas two-step" at CCJDigital.com. Peterbilt's Model 567, suited for heavy- and severe-duty applications, now is available with all-wheel drive in a set-back front-axle confi guration. The 567 includes the Marmon-Herrington MT-22H front drive axle rated at 22,000 pounds and the Dana Spicer DS4636 drive axle rated at 46,000 pounds. It can be ordered with a range of auxiliary components such as a transfer case, or the drive axle can be used in place of the transfer case. Peterbilt.com Peterbilt 567 all-wheel drive