Kenworth’s assembly plant in Chillicothe, Ohio has celebrated 50 years of building the trucks.
It is s located on a 120-acre site 50 miles south of Columbus, Ohio, and was officially opened on March 4, 1974.
The plant’s first truck, the Kenworth W900, rolled off the assembly line a day later, the company said in a release. Since then, more than 782,000 trucks have been built there.
The plant’s first truck, Kenworth W900, rolled off the assembly line on March 5, 1974 (Photo: Supplied)
This is currently Kenworth’s largest manufacturing facility and employs approximately 2,500 people. Nearly 40% of its employees have worked at the plant for more than 15 years, said Doug VanZuiden, Kenworth Chillicothe plant manager.
Investments and expansions
Since 2018, Kenworth has invested $300 million in the 622,000 sq.-ft. facility that features advanced manufacturing technologies, including robotic assembly, and a paint facility that utilizes the latest technology in the industry.
Kenworth Chillicothe plant in Ohio (Photo: Kenworth)
The multi-level paint facility went into production in October 2021 and is equipped with bell spray head technology that improves the appearance and transfer efficiency of the paint.
In 2022, the Kenworth Chillicothe plant received two Manufacturing Leadership Awards for its new Kenworth Paint Facility and Henrob Error Proofing project from the National Association of Manufacturers.
