Peterbilt Truck Plant Celebrating 35 Years

DENTON, TX – Thirty five years after the first truck rolled off the assembly line at Peterbilt’s Denton, TX manufacturing plant, the facility has produced nearly half a million trucks, and that’s a cause for a celebration by the company.

It was in 1980, the first truck produced there, a model 359, known as “Old No. 1,” came off the assembly line, when there were 81 employees working to manufacture two and half trucks per week.

Since that time the plant’s current production capacity is ten times that and the workforce is 2,000 strong.

“The value Peterbilt’s Denton plant has brought through the years to the company, our employees, customers, dealers and the community is immeasurable,” said Darrin Siver, Peterbilt general manager and Paccar vice president. “The Denton plant is a premier manufacturing facility across any industry and we continue to invest in the tools, processes and people that keep it state-of-the-art.”

Since opening, the 455,000 square-foot plant has undergone numerous changes to increase efficiency, capacity and productivity, according to Peterbilt. The introduction of new models has brought on new tooling and processes, and technology has been introduced to enhance operations. In many instances, Peterbilt said was the first truck manufacturer to introduce key technologies, such as a robotic chassis paint system.

Recent improvements to the plant include robotic cab assembly for the models 579 and 567 and a non-contact axle alignment system.

The plant is also undergoing a three-phase expansion project. The first phase created additional east side dock doors and receiving capacity. Phase two will add 17,000 square feet of additional material receiving area on the west side of the facility. Phase three, scheduled for completion in mid-2016, will create an automated storage and retrieval system on the second level of the building to index painted hoods, cabs and sleepers.

In 2014 the company added the Peterbilt Experience, a 4,300 square-foot exhibit that greets customers when they enter the plant. The Peterbilt Experience includes “Old No. 1;” a 1939 Model 260WD, the oldest complete Peterbilt known to exist; a 1940 Model 334; Peterbilt’s newest Models 579 and 567; cab and sleeper cutaways; the full lineup of Paccar engines; and videos and interactive displays on topics such as truck innovations, styling processes and manufacturing technologies.

 


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