A broken-down truck can turn a profitable day into a loss for a road crew or logger.
An expansion of Lewiston Idaho's Kenworth Sales Co. is aimed at minimizing the time it takes its customers to get their rigs back on the road.
The $4 million project will add seven repair bays for a total of 16, said Ric Petersen, district manager in Spokane, Washington. Once the construction is finished sometime in early October, the business will extend its service hours to 11 p.m. and add about 10 employees to its staff of 23.
Parts and service will also be open Saturdays.
Currently its technicians work from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays repairing all makes of trucks. They are on call around the clock, but customers pay more for after-hours work.
The expansion of the repairs department isn't the only upgrade Kenworth Sales Co. is making. The 16,000-square-foot addition will almost double the size of the present building, which is 20,000 square feet. The new space will have a home for the recently introduced dealership for new and used trucks.
Until recently, Kenworth Sales Co. provided parts and service, but not sales in Lewiston. The trucks cost roughly $165,000, plus more for the trailers that start at $35,000, depending on the purpose. The trucks can be customized to haul items as diverse as grain, wood chips, gravel and refrigerated produce.
As the Kenworth Sales Co. grows its Lewiston location, other amenities are being added. Asphalt will be laid on about 3.5 graveled acres of the site.
The company is using as many local contractors as possible because many of them are customers.
Kenworth will remain open during construction, Petersen said. "Even through this process, we're able to take care of our customers' needs."
