Mack Trucks will expand Roanoke County facility

North Carolina-based Mack Trucks, a division of Sweden-based Volvo Group, will invest $14.5 million to expand its Roanoke County manufacturing operation, a project expected to create 51 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday.

Mack Trucks, a medium- and heavy-duty trucks producer, will add 72,000 square feet to its current facility to increase capacity for its medium-duty truck line and “an emerging medium-duty electric truck line,” according to a news release.

In January 2020, then-Gov. Ralph Northam announced the company would invest $13 million to establish a Roanoke County facility to build medium-duty trucks, creating 250 jobs. Mack Trucks started building medium-duty trucks in the 280,900-square-foot facility on Sept. 1, 2020.

In 2021, an Argentinian private equity partnership purchased a 280,900-square-foot manufacturing facility in Salem for $12.7 million, the same address listed in Friday’s announcement

“Mack Trucks’ expansion further strengthens Virginia’s manufacturing industry ecosystem, which is a core focus of the commonwealth’s economic development strategy,” Youngkin said in a statement. “We are proud that Mack Trucks’ initial investment in a new Roanoke County operation four years ago has yielded a second major investment. This is truly another vote of confidence in Virginia by a global industry leader.”

Mack trucks are sold and serviced in more than 45 countries. Mack trucks, diesel engines and transmissions sold in North America are assembled in the United States, according to a news release. The Volvo Group was founded in 1927 and has about 104,000 employees.

“Mack is committed to making the industrial and product investments we need to be a North American market leader,” Stephen Roy, global president of Mack Trucks, said in a statement. “The expansion of the Roanoke Valley operations plant will help us grow in a strategic market segment and support our sustainability goals.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Roanoke County and the Roanoke Regional Partnership to secure the project for Virginia. Youngkin approved a $255,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist the county. VEDP will support Mack Trucks through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, which provides consulting and funding to companies adding jobs to support employee recruitment and training activities. The company is eligible to receive state benefits from the Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit for full-time jobs created.