Freightliner Trucks and Old Dominion Freight Line celebrated their long-time partnership at Daimler Truck North America’s (DTNA) Cleveland, N.C. truck manufacturing plant as a new Cascadia rolled off the assembly line—the 15,000th Freightliner purchased by Old Dominion since 1991.
It is also the first new Cascadia model to be built at the Cleveland truck manufacturing plant.
Freightliner customized the new Cascadia to Old Dominion’s specifications to maximize utility, safety and efficiency for its nationwide operations.
“The new Cascadia is the market leader that improves safety and fuel economy, and based on our long-term partnership, it’s only fitting that the first one we make in Cleveland would be for Old Dominion,” said Henning Bruns, general manager of the Cleveland truck manufacturing plant. “Old Dominion always says that to them, it’s not just a shipment, and to us, they’re not just a customer. This is a fitting way to start the next chapter of our partnership.”
The companies’ ceremony took place at the plant’s truck museum, where some of DTNA’s most notable trucks and the company’s history in Cleveland is showcased. Old Dominion executives toured the assembly line, inspected the robotics and manufacturing processes, and met with the plant employees who helped build the truck.
“Old Dominion continuously invests in our equipment and technology to meet the needs of our customers,” said Thomas Newby, Old Dominion’s vice president of equipment and maintenance. “For more than two decades, Old Dominion has repeatedly turned to Freightliner for dependable, best-in-class tractors that help us deliver the on-time, premium service our customers expect.”
Freightliner and Old Dominion have similar backgrounds. Old Dominion started in 1934 and quickly became one of the nation’s leaders in hauling material needed for World War II. Meanwhile, Leland James launched Freightliner Trucks in 1942 because he could not find a company that would build a lightweight tractor to navigate the western Rocky Mountains.
Today, 75 years after James started building his own trucks, Old Dominion is one of his company’s biggest customers.
Already, customers have booked more than 25,000 of the new Cascadia truck models, topping the combined number of orders for the first three years after the 2007 launch of the original Cascadia, which is the leading on-highway truck in North America.