PORTLAND, ORE – The parent company to Freightliner Trucks plans to sharply increase production and employment levels at its Mt. Holly, NC, manufacturing plant over the next three months. http://www.daimler-trucksnorthamerica.com

The reason, according to Daimler Trucks North America, is to accommodate rising customer demand.

The Mt. Holly plant manufactures Freightliner M2 Business Class medium-duty diesel and natural gas-powered trucks, as well as Freightliner’s line of 108SD and 114SD trucks built for the severe-duty vocational markets.

The facility will add a third shift to its operations and plans to fill the additional 580 manufacturing and 25 related supervision, engineering and administrative positions by mid-July.

These positions will be in addition to the more than 2,300 positions filled in the company’s truck and parts facilities during 2014.

“Our vehicle manufacturing network is highly scalable and together with our component suppliers, we are fully prepared to handle current and projected new truck order levels,” said Roger Nielsen, chief operating officer, Daimler Trucks North America. “The untapped capacity at the Mt. Holly plant provides us the capacity and the leverage to meet customer delivery schedules in today’s fast-paced economy.”