International Diesel plans to expand its engine plant

A new 300,000-square-foot facility for International Diesel of Alabama is to be built near its existing plant in Jetplex Industrial Park near Huntsville International Airport.

According to sources familiar with the project, diesel engines for heavy-duty trucks will be built at the new location.

An announcement for the new facility and the number of jobs it will create is to be made this afternoon at 1:30 by Gov. Bob Riley at the existing plant. International currently has about 500 workers at its plant here.

Others expected to attend today's announcement include Jack Allen, president, International Engine Group, International Truck and Engine Corp.; Jacob Thomas, vice president, International Engine Group; and Donna Miller, plant manager at International Diesel of Alabama.

International Diesel is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Truck and Engine Corp., which is headquartered in Warrenville, Ill. International produces heavy-duty trucks, medium-duty trucks, severe service trucks, school buses and medium-range diesel engines.

International Diesel's Huntsville plant produces a new generation of technologically advanced clean diesel engines at its 700,000-square-foot plant at 646 James Record Road in the industrial park.

Navistar International Corp., whose principal operating subsidiary is International Truck and Engine Corp., announced in April 1999 that it would locate a manufacturing plant in the building that had housed Onan Co. Production started two years later.