Detroit Diesel Corp to build new engine line

Detroit Diesel Corp (DDC) plans to build a new, heavy-duty diesel engine line at the company's Redford MI manufacturing facility. DDC also intends to initiate North American assembly of the MBE 900 medium-duty diesel engine at Redford. It plans to industrialize production of the two engine platforms at the Redford facility by 2007.

The new heavy-duty truck engine — in development by DDC and parent company DaimlerChrysler — will be launched in 2007 and will incorporate the latest in diesel engine and emissions technology. For a period of transition, the new engine will be sold in tandem with the DDC Series 60 engine. In the NAFTA market, the new engine will be installed in heavy-duty vehicles produced by the Freightliner Group and in products built by selected other DDC customers.

Announcement of new engine production at Redford follows the ratification of a new labor contract covering 1,300 hourly workers at the facility. DDC and the United Auto Workers Local 163 had reached a tentative agreement November 10. The contract was formally ratified by a vote of the UAW membership November 21. This new contract is effective immediately and runs until April 30, 2010.