Canuck wheel plant to grow
LONDON, Ont. – Accuride has announced plans to pump US$13.5 million into its London, Ont. facility within the next two years.
The company will construct a new 50,000-square-foot building to increase capacity and add a paint facility, sources tell local media.
“Those basic details are essentially correct,” operations manager Alastair Brent confirms. The London expansion is part of a consolidation plan by Accuride, manufacturer of heavy-, medium- and light-duty truck rims and wheels.
Accuride has steel wheel operations in London, Henderson, Ky., Columbia, Tenn. and Monterrey, Mexico.
The company is also involved in the production and sale of aluminum wheels in Erie, Pa., and in a commercial tire and wheel assembly joint venture in Springfield, Ohio and Talbotville, near London.
In a news release, the company announced it will be closing its Columbia operation and moving production elsewhere.
The company says its restructuring was spurred by a 36 per cent downturn in its market due to the massive decline in truck manufacturing across North America.
Company president Bill Greubel said this week “there are clear signs that we are now near the bottom of the cycle. The industry backlog appears to have stabilized.” n
BETHESDA, Md. – Truck and bus safety enforcement agencies throughout Canada and the U.S. will conduct 16 hours of brake specific roadside inspections on Sept. 5.
The crackdown is part of this year’s Operation Air Brake, a North American brake safety campaign sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA). These special safety inspections, which began in 1998, are conducted several days each year in an effort to reduce the number of brake-related violations. While brake-related defects continue to be the most frequent commercial vehicle equipment violation, the results show improvements in safety compliance. For example, 10,344 vehicles were inspected in the May 2000 Operation Air Brake, with 18.5 per cent placed out-of-service for brake related problems. In May 2001, 12,938 vehicles were inspected, with only 16 per cent placed out for brakes. n
Have your say
This is a moderated forum. Comments will no longer be published unless they are accompanied by a first and last name and a verifiable email address. (Today's Trucking will not publish or share the email address.) Profane language and content deemed to be libelous, racist, or threatening in nature will not be published under any circumstances.