SALTILLO, Mexico — Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) has observed the grand opening of a new $300-million manufacturing plant in Saltillo, Coahuila, in northern Mexico.

According to a statement from DTNA, “The new facility utilizes the most advanced lean manufacturing processes and techniques in the truck building industry today, incorporating continuous evaluation and improvement and best practices from other Daimler Trucks facilities and lean plants around the world.”

The facility is expected to employ 1,414 plant workers and 186 management and support personnel, and to generate an additional 1,100 jobs with local suppliers.

The 1.3 million sq.-ft. plant comprises an administration building, a training center and auditorium, a 200,000 sq.-ft. logistics center and an 875,000 sq.-ft. production facility. The site also includes a pre-delivery inspection/transporter center and test track.

The plant, which will produce Freightliner’s Cascadia model Class 8 truck, was built in Saltillo for significant logistical advantages including proximity to raw materials, suppliers, customers, roads, and rail, the company says. The 740-acre green field site provided a unique opportunity for a fully scalable, customized development, considered to be rare in truck manufacturing. The plant will produce up to 30,000 Cascadias annually, for sale in the US, Canadian, and Mexican markets, reports DTNA.

The Saltillo plant is the second Daimler Trucks North America manufacturing facility to be located in Mexico, joining the Santiago Tianguistenco plant, which produces Freightliner-branded heavy- and medium-duty trucks for domestic sales in Mexico, as well as for export to Latin America, the US and Canada. As one of five major US-based original equipment manufacturers with Mexican manufacturing capability, DTNA states that it knows the value of Saltillo’s professional supplier base and logistics infrastructure.

“We are truly a global company, and our continuing focus is to ensure the company’s long-term health for all of our many stakeholders,” said Roger Nielsen, DTNA, chief operating officer. “Locating this facility at Saltillo makes good business sense for our company. We are confident of our ability to deliver the quality, cost and reliability our customers expect from Daimler Trucks. Saltillo offers both the manufacturing flexibility and the space for future expansion that will enable DTNA to respond to any rebound in the truck market.”