PUYALLUP, Wash. – Rodi Power Systems has purchased a 159,200-square-foot production facility in Abbeville, La., bringing it one step closer to bringing a new truck engine to the North American market.

Limited production is expected to begin in January 2001, with investment funding that’s still needed for tooling, final development and testing. The plant is expected to employ 220 people in its first year, while the site is being designed for an eventual production capacity of 100 engines per shift.

“This is a big milestone for RODI,” said Byron Spain, founder and CEO. “We founded this company in 1994 with the mission of bringing a significantly better diesel engine to the truck and heavy equipment industries. Over the past several years of developing the engineering and the science behind the HT1-450, we could have only imagined the day when we would walk into our own modern production plant.”

The plant sits on 15 acres alongside Louisiana Hwy. 14, with a 138,000-square-foot production floor, 11,200 square feet of office space and a 10,000-square-foot employee cafeteria. RODI is scheduled to occupy the facility in July, and begin tooling the production area that will feature an automated “monorail” (overhead) engine assembly system.

Testing of the HT1-450 – the company’s first heavy-duty diesel engine – continues at a development centre in Puyallup, Wash.

For more information about the engine, surf to www.rodi.com. n