Freightliner Corp.'s Wide Approach

ORLANDO, Fla. — Sometimes, it seems truck maker Freightliner Corp. would make a good candidate for Gamblers Anonymous.

Last week, less than a year after buying Thomas Built Buses, it signed a letter of intent with the Mayflower Corp. of Britain to form a joint venture to build low-floor, all-aluminum light transit buses for the North American market.

At the same time, Freightliner, based in Portland, Ore., bought a substantial stake in the TravelCenters of America chain of truck stops in the United States.

With so much happening so soon after acquiring Ford Motor Co.’s heavy truck division — renamed Sterling — and the American LaFrance Co., which makes firetruck equipment and chassis, it’s no wonder that Freightliner sometimes seems to be spreading itself a little too thin.

But James Hebe, president of Freightliner, doesn’t think the company has any other choice.

“Anybody that thinks they can focus on one niche of the truck business and survive is nuts,” he said March 2 at the company’s annual dealership meeting. “That day is long gone.”

For the full story, see the March 8 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.