manufacturing company . for other uses see freightliner . freightliner trucks type private industry automotive founded 1942 as freightliner inc headquarters portland oregon u.s. key people martin daum president ceo john o leary cfo finance and control roger m. nielsen coo products commercial vehicles luxury vehicles owner daimler ag parent daimler trucks north america website freightlinertrucks.com snc century freightliner trucks is an american 1 truck manufacturer and a division of daimler trucks north america . 2 the division is known mainly for the heavy duty class 8 diesel trucks it offers as well as class 5 7 trucks . contents 1 history 1.1 early years 1.2 1960s 1.3 1970s 1.4 1980s daimler benz takes over 1.5 1990s 1.6 2000 2007 1.7 2007 present 2 models 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . march 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message early years edit in the 1930s consolidated freightways cf decided to produce their own truck line from reconstructed fageols after finding most heavy trucks lacked sufficient power to climb the steep mountain grades in the western united states . the trucks were branded freightliners with the first units produced in consolidated freightways maintenance facility in salt lake city around 1942 . after production was interrupted during ww ii manufacturing began again in cf s home of portland oregon . in 1949 the first truck sold outside of consolidated freightways went to forklift manufacturer hyster also based in portland . 3 today that truck is in the smithsonian collection in washington d.c. 4 lacking distribution capability and seeking higher volume to reduce production costs cf entered into an agreement in 1951 to sell their trucks through the white motor company of cleveland ohio and their dealer network in the us and canada . this relationship endured for the next quarter century and the co branded white freightliner cab over engine models coe became a familiar sight on highways across the continent . 1960s edit manufacturing began in burnaby british columbia in 1961 to reduce the duty penalty on the complete vehicles sold in canada . assembly plants in indianapolis and chino california complemented the main plant on swan island in portland serving the us market . in 1969 a new assembly plant was opened on north basin st. which was then converted to parts production . 1970s edit white motor company became troubled in the 1970s . expansion into whitegoods and agricultural equipment consumed capital without producing a return and the relationship with consolidated freightways became frayed . in 1974 the distribution agreement was terminated and freightliner corp. began life as a freestanding manufacturer and distributor . many of the first dealers were from the white motor co. network but some entrepreneurs also signed up to represent the trucks without the white motor co. franchise as a complement . at the same time the company introduced its first conventional model an adaptation of the high coe mainstay product . high coes accounted for well over 50 % of the us market in those days owing to overall length regulations that limited the bumper to taillight dimension of a semitrailer unit to 55 ft on interstate highways . conventionals were popular on western roads due to more convenient ingress egress better ride and easier access to the engine for servicing . in 1979 a new plant in mount holly north carolina and a parts manufacturing plant in gastonia north carolina were constructed both in the charlotte metropolitan area . volumes continued to increase . the year 1979 marked a consequential event in the evolution of freightliner and of the whole trucking and truck manufacturing industries . president carter signed bills into law deregulating transport both on the ground and in the skies . deregulation changed the economics of trucking and removed the protective shield of regulated carriage that protected carriers allowing much needed competition . 1980s daimler benz takes over edit three years later the surface transportation assistance act of 1982 relaxed weight and length standards and imposed a new excise tax on heavy trucks and the tires they use . no longer was the overall length of semitrailer combinations restricted ; rather only the trailer was specified to be not greater than 53 ft in length . individual states retained more restrictive overall length laws but fundamentally the rules had changed forever . consolidated freightways a traditional unionized carrier that flourished in the era before deregulation realized it was in a fight for its life . in may 1981 it sold its truck manufacturing business and the freightliner brand to daimler benz allowing it to concentrate its management attention and financial resources on its traditional trucking business . around this time the chino and indianapolis plants were closed permanently . consolidated freightways continued carrier business until 2002 when it ceased operation on labor day weekend . in 1985 freightliner introduced a new medium conventional series flc using the passenger portion of the cabin from the then recently introduced mercedes benz lk . mercedes cabins gradually became used for a number of freightliner trucks . in 1989 freightliner acquired a standing plant in cleveland north carolina near statesville that had been producing transit buses for german manufacturer man . 1990s edit freightliner from the late 1990s in 1991 after years of poor sales parent company daimler ended its sales of mercedes benz medium duty trucks in north america . in their place freightliner entered the medium duty truck segment with the business class fl series . a downsized version of the flc conventional it used many cab components with the mercedes benz lkn cabover adapted into a conventional . the first all new entry in the medium duty market in over a decade the fl series met with success . another pronounced downturn in the industry s fortunes necessitated drastic measures to restore freightliner to financial health and dr dieter zetsche now the chairman of daimler s board of management was dispatched to lead the project as ceo . the burnaby assembly plant was closed replaced by a new facility in st. thomas ontario . cost reduction programs across the company restored profitability when the market rebounded . significantly production also commenced in santiago tianguistenco mexico about 30 miles 48 km outside mexico city in a plant owned by daimler benz . at that time the plant was also producing buses brazilian designed medium duty trucks and compact mercedes benz passenger cars . the 1990s were a busy era for truck manufacturers in general and for freightliner in particular under the leadership of flamboyant james l. hebe a former kenworth sales executive who joined the company in 1989 . during the decade freightliner made numerous acquisitions to further diversify itself 1995 oshkosh custom chassis in gaffney south carolina became freightliner custom chassis producing the underpinnings for walk in vans used by companies such as ups to deliver parcels and cintas for uniform laundry services ; diesel recreational vehicles ; conventional school buses ; and shuttle buses . the oshkosh and freightliner partnership has dissolved and oshkosh is no longer affiliated with freightliner . citation needed 1996 american lafrance a 130 year old manufacturer of fire apparatus was purchased ; it was mr. hebe s first employer . lafrance had fallen on hard times and was moribund at the time of the acquisition . 1997 sterling trucks a subdivision was created as freightliner acquired the product rights to the newly designed ford louisville aeromax class 8 trucks from ford motor company along with the north american production rights to the ford cargo . intended primarily as vocational trucks the sterling product line borrowed its name from an early white motor company brand ; it slotted between freightliner and western star in the daimler product line . 1998 thomas built buses of high point north carolina was acquired ; it was producer of all classes of school bus bodies and forward control chassis . 2000 2007 edit a custom tanker truck built on a 2004 freightliner m2 chassis a bus with a freightliner fs 65 chassis in g mez palacio durango 2000 western star trucks inc. the successor to the white motor co. of canada and its assembly plants in kelowna british columbia and ladson south carolina were acquired . 2000 detroit diesel corp. redford michigan the former general motors subsidiary had been revived by roger penske and was attractive to daimlerchrysler as a point of entry into the north american heavy duty diesel industry . this company was actually acquired by another unit of daimlerchrysler but operations were gradually integrated into freightliner . throughout this era a number of small fire and rescue apparatus manufacturers were acquired and rolled into the american lafrance entity . by 2001 the company was awash in used trucks it could not sell due to questionable business decisions made by jim hebe and the company was saddled with a number of poor performing operations at a time when the core business still the freightliner over the road truck offerings was in recession . former freightliner cfo rainer schmueckle was dispatched by daimlerchrysler to once again turn the company around . the kelowna western star plant was closed as was a thomasbuilt facility in woodstock ontario and parts manufacturing at the old portland plant was discontinued . american lafrance production was consolidated in the former western star plant in ladson south carolina but the attempt to integrate specialized emergency vehicles into a company noted for high volume production capabilities proved unworkable and american lafrance was sold in 2005 to a private equity fund . citation needed 2007 present edit 2010 freightliner cl columbia 2012 freightliner m2 business class crew cab on april 2 2007 the strike committee of united auto workers uaw local 3520 called for a strike at the freightliner trucks assembly plant in cleveland north carolina . this strike lasted only one day but because the uaw declared the strike unofficial it was considered a wildcat strike action resulting in the firing of 700 employees . nearly all these were at length allowed back to work six remained terminated for about a week but five remain terminated . also in 2007 freightliner laid off 800 us workers from its portland oregon plant relocating manufacturing work to a new multimillion dollar plant in mexico . however plans to close the plant completely were dropped in september 2009 and it remained open to produce military vehicles and western star trucks . 5 230 more portland workers were laid off in 2013 . 6 after daimlerchrysler sold the chrysler division and changed its name to daimler ag in 2007 it was announced freightliner llc would be renamed to daimler trucks north america llc on january 7 2008 . today freightliner remains active in heavy duty trucks and in commercial vehicles in classes 5 through 8 in north america . it leads the diesel class a recreational vehicle chassis and walk in van markets . its detroit diesel and mercedes benz engine offerings are also industry leaders . citation needed the freightliner badge also adorns the sprinter a class 2 van produced by mercedes benz in europe and marketed through freightliner dealers . previously it was also available through chrysler dealers as a dodge branded offering prior to the sale of chrysler to fiat . tesla motors is supplying battery packs for freightliner s custom chassis electric van . clarification needed 7 on january 12 2012 daimler trucks north america announced plans to hire 1200 second shift workers by the end of the year at its cleveland plant the company s largest us truck plant with nearly 500 employees . most of those would be people who were laid off when the second shift was dropped in 2009 . the reason was increased demand for cascadia trucks