“This will be our first manufacturing expansion since 1995,” says Omer Kropf, president.
The first job will be an order for 840 van bodies from Budget Rental. Production is scheduled to run from January to May. The vans will be 16- and 24-ft long.
The plant is located on 13 acres, 32 miles south of Portland, just off Interstate 5. The location will help Supreme serve such markets as Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. The company previously served the region from a plant in Moreno Valley, California.
When fully staffed, the plant will employ approximately 120 people. “Our production capacity is for about 3,900 trucks per year,” says Mike Oium, general manager and vice-president of Supreme Truck Bodies Western Region. “If our sales continue their upward trend, we hope to be able to run at capacity.
After the Budget contract is fulfilled, the plant will produce some of Supreme’s best-selling truck bodies, including Spartan service bodies, Iner-City cutaways, Spartan cargo vans, stake bodies, and van bodies.