Keep on truckin’ in Rosser

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This article was published 16/03/2020 (2260 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bigger, brighter, energy-efficient and customer-friendly. Those are words that can be used to describe Freightliner Manitoba’s new heavy-duty truck dealership at 45 Bergen Cutoff Rd. in the RM of Rosser.

Interviewed on March 9, Freightliner Manitoba’s fleet operations manager Mike Palmer said the facility was due to open on March 16 with over 100 employees. Construction started on the 78,000 square-foot building in spring 2019.

“We outgrew our facility at 2058 Logan eight years ago,” Palmer said. The company, which is a division of Daimler Trucks North America, was started in 1991. Ken Talbot is the current president.

The new facility occupies 14 acres in the CentrePort Canada section of Rosser and is connected to Cartier Water Co-operative water system and the City of Winnipeg wastewater system.

“If we need to expand, we can go north or west,” Palmer said.

The building’s gray, cream and bright red-orange interior décor is highlighted with shiny diamond plate chrome paneling.

Palmer said the building is designed to be energy-efficient with LED lighting and a radiant in-floor heating system. Huge overhead fans are mounted to keep the building cool.

The spacious showroom will feature two shiny semi cabs. Palmer said the showroom will also contain computers with touchscreen technology to give customers the opportunity to swap colours and virtually customize their new truck.

“You can build your truck,” Palmer said, adding that sales staff will have their offices adjacent to the showroom so they can assist customers.

Seven large video screens will be mounted around the showroom’s edge to screen company information and other material. Palmer said customers’ logos will be painted on the showroom walls.
“Our largest customer is Bison Transport,” Palmer said, noting that Bison has ordered 264 trucks this year, with Paul’s Hauling ordering about 100.

A section of the main floor is devoted to retail parts and supplies. Palmer said Freightliner’s 15 parts department staff members were consulted on how they wanted the parts section designed. A parts and service counter will serve walk-in customers as well as supply parts for the adjacent 10-bay express assessment area and larger main shop area.

Palmer said someone with a truck needing repair can drive in and have their vehicle assessed within a two-hour window. If the repair can be done fairly quickly, the customer can relax in a lounge area that features laundry and shower rooms.

“There’s no other dealership in Manitoba with this (express assessment) system,” Palmer said. “We have one express bay now (at 2058 Logan).”

Freightliner Manitoba marketing manager Haley Peloquin said that customers want quick service.

“If your truck’s down, you’re losing money,” she said.

A computerized system will track the time spent on each truck being repaired in the area to make sure the customer is kept updated.

A call centre will oversee orders from outside the company. Parts and merchandise will be kept in a 9,800 square-foot heated warehouse with a loading dock.

“We can unload two trucks at once,” Palmer said.

The main shop area has 23 service bays and includes wash areas for ‘clean’ trucks and ‘dirty’ trucks. Two overhead cranes are suspended over eight bays. Each service bay has an exhaust system, and hoses supplying oil and water.

The second floor contains offices and meeting rooms for administrative staff, laundry and locker rooms for mechanics, with a mezzanine level overlooking the showroom and containing executive and manager’s offices, and a board room.

Palmer said the employee lunchroom, also on the second floor, will feature freshly made foods in a micro-market setting. It’s important to offer Freightliner staff good food choices since there are no restaurants in the immediate area.

Freightliner Manitoba will continue to operate its Brandon facility as well as one at 380 Transport Rd. in Transcona.