PORTLAND, Ore. — Thomas Built School Buses will not be affected by parent company Daimler Trucks North America’s decision to discontinue its Sterling Truck Brand, a spokeswoman said yesterday.
The company said it ended the medium- and heavy-duty truck brand due to “depressed demand across the industry.” According to Maria McCullough, Daimler Trucks North America sales are down 10 percent from last year and down 43 percent compared to 2006.
In addition to closing the St. Thomas, Ontario, Sterling production plant in March 2009, the company will move its Western Star truck production from Portland to Santiago, Mexico, while production of Freightliner-branded vehicles will move to either North or South Carolina by-mid 2010. The company said 2,300 workers in St. Thomas and Portland will lose their jobs. An additional 1,200 salaried positions will also be cut.
McCullough said the shuttered Sterling line and the company’s Thomas Built Bus line share no components, though both brands use suppliers Detroit Diesel, Mercedes-Benz, Cummins, Eaton, Allison and other suppliers. She said the company will introduce new models into the Freightliner product line to supply niches previously served by Sterling, including natural-gas powered vehicles.
