Mercedes-Benz Breaks Ground on $500M Van Plant

Mercedes-Benz will shift production of vans it sells in the U.S. and Canada to North Charleston, S.C., by the end of the decade with a plant that nearly triples its existing manufacturing footprint.

Surrounded by dignitaries such as Sen. Lindsay Graham and Gov. Nikki Haley, Mercedes-Benz and Daimler leaders celebrated the start of construction at a July 27 ceremony and provided more details about their plans to stop importing the vans from Dusseldorf in a complex assembly process to avoid the "chicken tax" assessed on trucks build in Europe. The tax assesses a 25% tariff on the vehicles, Graham said.

Instead, Mercedes-Benz will invest $500 million to expand its existing assembly plant to 1.1 million square feet from the 409,000-square-foot space. Mercedes-Benz will also construct a marshalling yard for finished vehicles of 2.8 million square feet.

The plant also helps Mercedes-Benz meet increasing demand for its Sprinter and Metris models. The company sold about 29,800 vans in 2015, a 16% increase over the prior year, said Bernie Glaser, vice president and managing director of Mercedes-Benz Vans.

"Over the last few years, we've seen very steady growth [in van sales]," said Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans. "This is what we're counting on in the future."

The new plant will create 1,300 new jobs at the plant and 400 new jobs at local suppliers, which will eventually include Auto Truck Group and Knapheide upfitting facilities.

The plant will simplify production of the Sprinter and Metris. Since 2006, Mercedes-Benz has been using a semi-knock-down process of building the vans in Germany, then disassembling them for shipment through the Charleston port. Van bodies, engine and powertrain kits, and other parts arrive separately and must be reassembled for being shipped to customers.

Elected South Carolina leaders praised Mercedes-Benz for investing in the region during remarks to a group of media members, plant employees, and company associates. During a light-hearted moment, North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey urged Mercedes-Benz to build a pickup truck at the plant.

"This is the deep South," Summey said. "I need for you to develop a line for a pickup truck."

Related: Mercedes-Benz Expands Van Offerings, Adds Ship-Thru

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New Isuzu Facility Aims to Serve Dealers and Customers

Isuzu's new Center of Excellence facility. Photo: Isuzu Commercial Truck of America

Isuzu Commercial Truck of America has opened a new complex that it is calling the Center of Excellence, comprised of a parts distribution center, training and technical assistance facility.

The part center is 100,000 square feet in size and is stocked with $8 million worth of parts, placing them close to a concentrated area of commercial vehicle dealers to reduce delivery time. The Center of Excellence is designed to put three major functions supporting dealerships and customer in the region under one roof.

The training and technical assistance area is housed in a 30,000-square-foot portion of the facility. The training center offers training to dealership service, parts, sales and customer satisfaction personnel. Through the Isuzu Truck University, the personnel will receive intensive, hands-on technical and lifecycle training.

“Our ‘lifecycle' business model is built on the premise that customers will look only to Isuzu for their commercial truck needs so long as we provide them the highest quality product, the least amount of downtime, and a level of service that exceeds their expectations,” said Shaun Skinner, president of Isuzu Commercial Truck of America. “To do that requires a very large level of support. That's what this Center of Excellence—and more like it in the future—will provide.”

The Center's location was strategically chosen because the Northeast region is home to one of the highest concentrations of U.S. Isuzu dealerships, Isuzu commercial trucks in operation and the company's annual parts sales.

Isuzu plans to build more of these types of facilities in the future and already has plans to open a second facility in the U.S.

“As impressive as it is, this center represents something much bigger,” said Skinner. “It represents Isuzu's commitment to the U.S. market, and our pledge to do everything we can to support our dealer body and our customers' ownerships experience.”

Related: Q&A With Isuzu's Shaun Skinner

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Kenworth Launches Essentials App for Mobile Devices

Kenworth Truck Company has launched the Kenworth Essentials app for Apple and Android mobile devices, offering relevant information on trucks, engines and technologies.

The app provides access to Kenworth news in real time and is filled with videos, brochures and galleries of multi-perspective images.

The app offers access to the Kenworth Dealer Locator with a “Find Nearby” feature that gives directions to the nearest Kenworth dealer. The locator can also search nationwide by city, state, province or zip code.

The app will recognize your current location and map directly to the Kenworth dealership chosen. A call to the dealership is also made easier with a “one-touch” dialing feature by tapping the phone number.

Kenworth will update the app regularly with new features, the company says. The app is available on the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

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EZ Drain Valve Made For Vaporizer Drain Systems

The EZ Oil Drain valve has a new application for a vaporizer drain system on propane-powered equipment.

The liquid petroleum gas regulator equipped on these units has a vaporizer drain on the regulator. The EZ Drain Valve can be used for this application, particularly the stainless steel version of the valve.

Some regulators and vaporizers have brass drain valve to remove oil and tar from the unit, but a stainless valve is required if any harsh chemical is present in the liquid to be drained to avoid corrosion. Many propane-powered unit maintenance protocols require the oil and tar to be drained every 100-150 hours, according to the company.

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FCA to invest nearly $1.5 billion in Ram plant

In a press statement on Tuesday afternoon, FCA U.S. announced that it will invest $1.48 billion in its Sterling Heights (MI) Assembly Plant as part of a future growth plan for the Ram brand.

The investment will position the plant to build the next generation Ram 1500 and support future growth of the brand, the company said.

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Digital disruption and trucking

We all know the trucking business is going to be changed significantly due to the rising tide of digital advances sweeping not only the freight markets but the business world as a whole – with electronic logging devices (ELDs) and the

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Mercedes-Benz Adds Sprinter and Metris Van Offerings

Mercedes-Benz Metris mid-size van

LADSON, S.C. Mercedes-Benz Vans is introducing a turnkey “ship-thru” upfitting program for its Metris mid-size van and for Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner full-size Sprinter vans. The OEM is also rolling out a value-priced Worker model of the Metris as well as expanding its Worker lineup for the Sprinter.

The announcements came at a media briefing ahead of the company's July 27 groundbreaking for a $500-million expansion of its plant here that will allow it to build the next-generation Sprinter van for the North American market.

Once completed, Mercedes-Benz Vans said the project will help it keep pace with growth in the full-size van market here and free it from the costly and complex knockdown and reassembly process currently used to get Sprinters made in Europe into the U.S. for sale to save on the punitive “chicken tax” U.S. import duties placed on trucks built in the European Union.

The MasterSolutions vocational upfit program offers shelves, racks, cab chassis bodies or refrigeration units for Sprinter and Metris vans supplied by either Knapheide or Auto Truck Group. Mercedes-Benz said the offerings will be “competitively priced” and ordered “seamlessly” from Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner dealers.

"These pre-configured MasterSolutions from industry leading manufacturers are customized to fit your Sprinter or Metris van," said Bernie Glaser, Head of the Mercedes-Benz USA Vans Division. "The ordering process is streamlined and installation is also simple-- all MasterSolutions are fitted directly as ship-thru, thus ensuring seamless integration, delivery time and consistent quality."

Once a buyer selects a Sprinter or Metris, a selection of MasterSolution upfits are presented “à la carte-- the same way optional equipment is presented during the passenger car buying process,” the company noted. The customer then gets an “out the door” estimate for their entire van, including all upfits selected. Once ordered, vans are shipped from the Ladson plant through the upfitter for installation before delivery to the dealer or fleet.

Once the van is ordered, it is shipped from the Mercedes-Benz Vans plant in Ladson, S.C. through one of the MasterSolutions upfitters, where the upfit is installed prior to delivery to a dealership or fleet location.

The company noted that both Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and Daimler Truck Financial offer finance packages that include MasterSolutions pre-configured upfits.

In addition, the OEM has expanded its existing MasterUpfitter program, which grants highly qualified upfitters access to 3D engineering data, technical updates and detailed technical seminars. MasterUpfitters also gain access to VIP technical support from Daimler personnel and access to a dedicated database. What's new is that the most common upfit configurations will be orderable directly from dealers and installed by the upfitters, including Knapheide and Auto Truck Group.

Beginning late this year, the Sprinter Worker lineup will include additional chassis, engine and body configurations aimed at the needs of such van operators as contractors and cargo haulers.

“The response since we introduced the Sprinter Worker earlier this year at the Chicago Auto Show has exceeded our expectations,” said Glaser. “We received such terrific feedback from our dealers and customers that we have added several optional features. We remain committed to providing an affordable and approachable van, starting at just $32,495.”

Sprinter Worker models will now include the popular 170” wheelbase and a high-roof Cargo Van model, offering up to 486.5 cubic feet of cargo space and an interior standing height of nearly 6.5-feet. In addition, a 3.0-liter V6 BlueTEC turbo diesel engine will be available.

The Metris lineup is now also getting the Worker treatment. "Based on the excellent demand for our Sprinter Worker model, we are excited to announce the expansion of our lineup to include the Metris WORKER Cargo and Passenger Vans,” said Glaser. “With a starting price of $25,995, the Metris WORKER Cargo offers tremendous value for small businesses and fleets alike in addition to providing superior cargo volume, payload capacities and high levels of safety.”

The Metris Worker has the same engine, transmission and capacities as the original model. The Metris Cargo Van is offered only in white and has steel wheels as well as 1880-degree rear doors. It comes with a metal cargo floor that can be left unfinished or be customized with an optional factory wood floor or other floor offering from Mercedes-Benz' group of MasterUpfitters.

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