By 2001, DaimlerChrysler was awash in used trucks it couldn't sell, and saddled with a number of non-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, SC,
but the attempt to integrate complex, specialized emergency vehicles into a company noted for high volume production capabilities ultimately proved unworkable, and American LaFrance was sold late in 2005. Today, Freightliner remains
the leading brand in heavy-duty trucks, and in commercial vehicles in classes 5 through 8 in North America.
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