Fontaine Modification announced it is relocating its West Virginia modification center closer to a new Hino truck manufacturing plant.
Fontaine said the new center in Mineral Wells offers double the production space and allows for the expansion of its truck modification and other service offerings. The old center was in Williamstown, WV.
“This new facility gives us the capability to run several types of products simultaneously. That will be key to supporting the Hino XL series of trucks as they are introduced to customers," said Nate Eichinger, Fontaine’s managing director. “We are optimistic that the move will allow us to continue to grow and expand the ways that we can support Hino and its customers. We also expect that growth to result in adding new jobs going into 2020.”
Fontaine’s announcement follows the official opening by Hino last week of its new production facility in Mineral Wells. A grand opening celebration was broadcast live on Facebook. The event included multiple company and government officials from Japan and West Virginia.
In June, Hino's first truck rolled off the assembly line at the new plant, where it will continue to assemble all Classes 6-8 conventional trucks, including its newly released Class 7 and 8 XL Series. The new facility can produce 15,000 trucks a year on one shift.
Fontaine’s center is located and will allow easy access to the increased volumes expected as the OEM introduces its XL series of Class 8 trucks. The new center features 33,000 square feet with more than 10 dedicated bays, two drive-through lanes, a paint booth and six 5-ton overhead cranes.
The overhead cranes allow for safer and more efficient handling of large materials and bodies. In addition to painting services, equipment installations, and truck modifications, the additional space will enable Fontaine to offer new services.
Fontaine Modification, a Marmon / Berkshire Hathaway company, also has modification centers in North Carolina, Ohio Texas and Virginia. The company’s new facility will be managed by Chris Reynolds, who was general manager of the Williamstown center.
