Daimler gets $40M from federal government

(chinatrucks.com, Jan.25, 2010)The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded nearly $40 million to Daimler Trucks North America to develop energy-efficiency technologies for heavy-duty trucks.

Portland, Ore.-based Daimler Trucks, whose Thomas Built Buses unit is based in High Point, received the largest slice of the $187 million in federal grants announced Monday. All the money went to auto-industry manufacturers to develop fuel-efficient engines and other technologies for trucks and passenger vehicles by 2015.

A news release from the Department of Energy says Daimler’s share will be used to work on engine downsizing, electrification of auxiliary systems such as oil and water pumps, waste-heat recovery and improved aerodynamics.

The grants awarded Monday include $100 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The nine companies receiving grants say their projects will create more than 500 jobs for researchers, engineers and other managers developing the technologies. The projects are expected to generate as many as 6,000 jobs by 2015, including many in manufacturing and assembly.

Daimler's Thomas Built unit, with about 1,600 employees, ranks as the Triad's 34th largest employer, based on Business Journal research. In July, it completed a $4.55 million expansion project that ranked 22nd among the Triad's largest construction projects last year.

A year ago Daimler Trucks said it would lay off a total of 2,137 workers at its three facilities in the Charlotte region. The company cited “difficult and challenging times” for the industry.

Daimler Trucks has since recalled about 200 local employees.

At their busiest times, the Charlotte area plants employed 6,000.

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