HAGERSTOWN, Ind. — Autocar has ramped up production at its Hagerstown, Ind. plant from three trucks per month when first opened to 110 trucks per month as of July.

"Today we routinely assemble six trucks in an eight-hour shift," said Jim Johnston, president of Autocar. "We are not only meeting our rapidly increasing demand for trucks, we are supplying dealers with stock trucks in many cases to meet local demand."

The increase in production comes at the same time a number of changes to the Autocar Expeditor trucks have been introduced. Improvements have been made tot he cab of the truck making controls more ergonomically sound while providing higher levels of driver comfort and visibility, Johnston says.

"One of the best indicators of our positive direction in truck assembly is the upcoming ISO certification that will be awarded to us next spring," Johnston says.

He also pointed out the company has realized a reduction in raw material cost while also reducing freight costs by 50 per cent. The company has also secured component supplier deals with partners including Cummins, Caterpillar, Allison, Meritor and Hendrickson.

The company also attributes much of its growth to its Solutions customer care program.

"Autocar Solutions is a rapid response program that takes care of customer needs and gets trucks back on the streets as fast as possible," Johnston explains.

The manufacturer has also recently launched a TRUCKSpeX program that allows customers to visit the www.autocartruck.com Web site and choose from pre-set truck specification packages designed for their application.