Paccar recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new engine plant near Columbus, Miss. The ceremony, led by PACCAR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark Pigott and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, was attended by state and local officials, business and educational leaders.

“This is the official launch of an exciting and strategically significant development for PACCAR,” said Mark Pigott. “Our dealers, customers and suppliers have positively embraced this initiative, which will result in the highest-quality vehicles in the marketplace. This leading-edge facility will enhance Paccar’s integration of technology in design, engineering, and manufacturing. It is our goal that this facility will be the most technologically advanced and environmentally friendly commercial vehicle diesel engine facility in North America. The engines produced in Mississippi will complement DAF’s excellent engine factory in the Netherlands.”

The $400 million facility will include a 420,000 square foot engine plant and technology center on a 400-acre site in Columbus, Miss. Construction will begin immediately and is due to be completed in 2009.

“This is a superb location, close to many of our North American truck assembly facilities, customers and supplier partners,” added Pigott.

“The location of Paccar’s new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Lowndes County is further evidence of the high caliber of Mississippi’s workforce and our commitment to bringing high-paying jobs to our state,” Governor Barbour said. “Paccar’s presence will help maintain economic growth and contribute to an improved quality of life in this region and the state as a whole.”

PACCAR is a global technology leader in the design, manufacture and customer support of high-quality light- medium- and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt, and DAF nameplates. It also provides financial services and information technology and distributes truck parts related to its principal business.

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