Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is ramping up production at its Cleveland, North Carolina, Freightliner plant to 
cater for increased demand for its heavy-duty models.
The Cleveland facility is the largest Freightliner manufacturing plant in the United States and is solely responsible for the production of heavy-duty on-highway models including Cascadia, Columbia and Argosy. Almost 20 percent of the trucks built there are sold in the export markets of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Having recently started a second shift, the company plans to take on more than 1100 new employees by the end of 2012. This represents a 72 percent increase in personnel, including some 1072 shop employees and 29 engineering and support roles.
A majority of the positions are expected to be filled by recalled workers who were laid off in 2009. The ramp-up will nearly double daily production rates at the Cleveland plant by October 2012.
In conjunction with the ramp-up at the Cleveland plant, DTNA will also hire 100 new employees for its nearby Components and Logistics Plant. The 90 factory personnel and 10 office workers will primarily staff a second and third shift.
Hiring of new employees will begin in early February and the new production shift is slated to be at full capacity by September 2012.