Navistar International

Navistar Lands GM Deal To Assemble Trucks In Springfield

• Report rights infringement
• published: 01 Oct 2015
• views: 501

UPDATE -- Jessica Adkins works at the Short Stop market and restaurant which is not too far from the Navistar plant in Clark County. She knows just how important Navistar is. "It brings lots of jobs to the area. They bring lots of jobs out this way too. Lots of business for the smaller companies," said Adkins. 300 new jobs will be at the Springfield area plant by 2018 and there could be even more created. There is also more than 2 million being spent to upgrade the site. Adkins says everyone could not believe it when they heard the news, especially since the company nearly shut the plant down last year. She knows how devastating it would've been to lose the more than 1,000 jobs. "Not only for the people who work there but also the businesses around here. They bring lots of business to our store. I know the lunch rush is usually them coming in to eat or getting deliveries," said Adkins. Michael McDorman, the President C.E.O. of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce says the deal was in the works for about a year. "We're looking at a company that was looking to close its doors just last year," said McDorman. "To then turn around and say they're going to make a huge investment in Springfield with not only dollars into the plant but with huge numbers of jobs. This is all part of a long-term deal with G.M. to assemble trucks. "Not only is that reassurance that it's jobs that they know they're going to be able to keep but that's also new jobs being opened... Anything else that's going to bring more people here, more people that are going to buy houses and more people that are going to spend money in our economy," said Adkins. McDorman hopes this will bring more businesses to the area. "There are suppliers here that will benefit from that. There are also suppliers we hope will come to help this project be successful," said McDorman. So there's a huge opportunity outside of what we're announcing today for the community as we move forward. McDorman adds this is not the last jobs announcement we should expect. "We have a pipeline that is very full of projects and there's going to be more to come," said McDorman. "These types of jobs bring a lot of opportunities to our retail, our restaurants, our entertainment areas, all the things you're trying to grow in a community to build a high quality of life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Earlier coverage: SPRINGFIELD -- Navistar today (Wednesday) announced that in addition to adding jobs to its Clark County facility it also will building a commercial truck there for General Motors. According to the announcement, Navistar will develop and assemble medium-duty, conventional cab Class 4/5 commercial trucks. Production is expected to start in 2018. The company will add more than 300 jobs and invest more than 2 million for facility upgrades at the Springfield facility. Navistar has a storied history in our community, said Mike McDorman, president and CEO, Springfield Chamber of Commerce. The announcement of a new product line to be built in Springfield will bring new investment, increase jobs at the plant, and continue to highlight the significant role that the Springfield community plays in building trucks. Originally posted Wednesday, September 30th, 2015.