Fontaine Modification rolled the 100,000th truck off at its Laredo, Texas, truck modification center, which was recently more than doubled in size with the completion of a 40,000-square-foot expansion.
"I'm very proud of our team in Laredo," says Jamil Young, Fontaine Modification's president. "Everything about the expansion was meticulously planned and very well organized to the point that construction had virtually no impact on productivity. This speaks to the amazing team that we have in Laredo handling our operations."
The Laredo plant modified trucks assembled at Freightliner and Navistar plants in Mexico. It's attached to a marshalling yard, enabling Fontaine personnel to work on the truck while it remains in the OEM's delivery system, providing a seamless process for end-user customers.
The expansion provides more room for high-volume fleet services, such as installing electronics, vehicle tracking systems, safety equipment and graphics packages. It will also allow for new service offerings, such as vocational truck modifications and sit-down dual drive modifications, as well as auxiliary power unit installations and brake retarder installations. There's also a new paint booth that can fit a whole Class 8 tractor.
A 2024 Freightliner Cascadia Class 8 tractor for J.B. Hunt was the facility's 100,000th truck. The Cascadia got a customized package of fleet services, including a pre-delivery inspection, preparing trailer lines, installing telematics, corporate graphics and more.
"I was excited to witness the production of the 100,000th unit in our plant," says Juan Salazar, Fontaine's senior director of operations. "This truck is a testament to our entire team's hard work over the last 12 years to double our production while maintaining quality."
Fontaine employs 165 people in Laredo and hopes to increase employment to 280 to keep pace with projected growth for the facility. The company has 10 modification centers located adjacent to OEM manufacturing plants in Charlotte and Statesville, North Carolina; Chillicothe and Springfield, Ohio; Detroit; Garland and Laredo, Texas; Dublin and Salem, Virginia; and Mineral Wells, West Virginia. The company headquarters and new product development center are in Charlotte.
