Daimler Trucks North America has announced an $18 million investment to upgrade its current research and development facility in Madras, that is Madras, Oregon in the USA, not the more well known one in India!
The Madras City Council agreed to lease 35 hectares of Madras Airport property to Daimler, North America’s largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer, for a new durability test track, workshop and office building.
“DTNA is committed to providing the best value to its customers through ongoing testing, research and development that the Madras facility will continue to support,” the announcement said.
“The track is designed in such a way that engineers can simulate a typical vehicle’s full service life, traveling over a variety of road surfaces, in less than six months,” the company said.
It added, “The proximity of the Madras facility to DTNA’s Portland headquarters enables engineers in the office and in the field to work more easily on projects together.”
Construction of the facility, which will include a test track and several buildings, will begin in the next few months and will be completed by the end of 2016, the company said.
The upgrade of the Madras facility was made possible by the significant capital investment by DTNA, as well as support from local and state officials.
A spokesman said the company had been using the Madras site for about 25 years, but only a few employees worked there currently.
The announcement comes two years after DTNA announced plans to build a new $150 million headquarters building on its campus on Swan Island in North Portlan
Daimler Trucks North America LLC, headquartered in Portland, is the leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America.