Wabash Sets Plans for New Trailer Plant
Trailer manufacturer Wabash National said it is planning to construct a $25 million trailer manufacturing plant in Franklin, Ky. as part of a new cost-savings initiative.
Wabash, Lafayette, Ind., said it will break ground on the facility in either 2008 or 2009. The plant will produce the company’s DuraPlate and FreightPro dry-van trailers, Wabash said.
In addition, the company said it will “make improvements to its [existing] Lafayette facilities to streamline production flow and enhance manufacturing efficiency.”
“While the trailer market faces current headwinds, we are taking steps today to improve our long-term cost position,” said Dick Giromini, Wabash’s chief executive officer. “Even at cyclically low production levels, these initiatives are expected to favorably impact our margins.”
Once the Franklin facility is operational, Wabash said it expects the new cost-savings initiatives to cut per-trailer production costs “by approximately 80-100 basis points.”
Wabash's Giromini also predicted that demand for trailers would pick up “over the next 12-24 months.”
