Mack Trucks inaugurated its new axle line at the Hagerstown MD facility, where Mack powertrain components have been assembled since 1961. The new line is part of a $30 million investment, which brought assembly of all Mack heavy-duty drive axles and machining of Mack carrier housings to the plant.
“Bringing axle production to Hagerstown allows us to oversee the manufacturing process--from design to assembly--and deliver the high-quality components our customers depend on,” said Stephen Roy, president of Mack Trucks North America. “Building Mack engines, transmissions and now axles under one roof also demonstrates our continued commitment to integrated powertrain design.”
In addition to adding drive axle operations to Hagerstown, the investment was used for upgrades to the engine assembly process and centralization of aftermarket core warehousing operations. Production on the new axle line officially began in July.
Powertrain integration has been a pillar of Mack’s design approach for more than 115 years. Through integration, Mack has the ability to engineer its proprietary components to work seamlessly together, contributing to optimized vehicle performance and increased fuel efficiency for customers.
Mack proprietary drive axles are engineered with several unique features, including a top load design and spiral bevel gears. Together, these features deliver improved axle articulation, superior durability and increased fuel efficiency.
Customers seeking even greater fuel efficiency can spec Mack proprietary axles in combination with Mack’s Super Econodyne powertrain package. Super Econodyne integrates the Mack mDRIVE automated manual transmission, Mack MP 7 or MP 8 engines and Mack’s custom software to deliver superior fuel efficiency without compromising power or performance. Available on Mack Pinnacle highway models, combining Super Econodyne with Mack proprietary axles can increase fuel efficiency by up to 4% when compared with similarly spec’d vehicles.
“Hagerstown has played a crucial role in powering Mack’s truck models for more than 50 years,” said Pierre Jenny, vice-president of powertrain production. “With this new axle manufacturing capability, we are truly the birthplace of Mack’s famous Gold Bulldog, which adorns every Mack model equipped with a complete Mack proprietary powertrain.”
Mack brought assembly of the Mack mDRIVE automated manual transmission to Hagerstown in 2012. The mDRIVE, standard on the Pinnacle model, offers increased fuel efficiency, productivity and safety to Mack customers. Mack announced the mDRIVE HD, a heavy-duty version of the mDRIVE, in February 2015. The mDRIVE HD is standard equipment in the Mack Granite® model and the Titan by Mack model, offering improved performance for demanding on- and off-road applications. The mDRIVE HD also is assembled at the Hagerstown facility.