The iTA Leadership recently attended the 3-day SW Region Sales Summit held in San Antonio, TX.  It was an exciting 3 day’s for the team as they toured the new Navistar Manufacturing Plant and experienced first hand the revolutionary vision Navistar has embarked on with their S13 integrated powertrain  and the International eMV Series to name a few.  Below are excerpts from the Navistar San Antonio manufacturing plant ribbon cutting event published thru PRNewswire in 2022.

Today, Navistar hosted an official ribbon cutting event for its San Antonio Manufacturing Plant, a benchmark facility leading the company’s manufacturing in process optimization, real-time production management and sustainability in manufacturing operations. The facility improves quality, lowers costs and provides capacity support to Navistar’s current manufacturing footprint.

Ecological Building, Fit for the Future
The nearly 1 million-square-foot manufacturing facility includes a body shop, paint shop, general assembly shop and logistics center equipped to produce Class 6-8 vehicles, including electric vehicle models. The plant is a sustainable baseline facility in site, building and process practices, to serve as a benchmark for Navistar’s manufacturing network.

“In support of our company focus, we are taking actions to reduce the environmental impact of our manufacturing operations with the goal of becoming zero carbon as we transform the future of transportation,” said Hernandez. “The first vehicle off the manufacturing line in San Antonio was the International eMV Series electric truck; the purpose of the plant from inception was to have the capability to manufacture both electric and internal combustion engine powertrains in the same facility.”

Sustainable Manufacturing and Supply Chain
The plant will serve as Navistar’s benchmark for lean manufacturing principles to eliminate waste, improve product quality, drive operational efficiency, and reduce cost and time. Industry 4.0 principles have been incorporated to connect digital and physical technologies, allowing the plant to be more connected and easily make data-driven decisions. Operating with a data-driven approach helps to focus on sustainability goals and metrics in addition to supporting a leaner manufacturing output.

“We are incorporating the latest manufacturing principles – digital factory, connected machinery, robust lean manufacturing processes and cloud analytics – to enable predictive quality and maintenance, and allowing data-driven decisions to be made on the shop floor in real time,” said Hernandez.

In the future, Navistar plans to begin operations at the Advanced Technology Center (ATC) on-site, which accelerates implementation of emerging technologies and Industry 4.0 technologies within the commercial trucking space. The ATC is focused on product development, testing and validation efforts supporting the company’s strategy, and will be a key location for future research and development footprint with a focus on zero-emission components, software and autonomous technologies.

Technology and Innovation is changing how we work and engage with each other.  iTA is excited to be taking this journey with Navistar and is making investments in Tech/Innovation to better support and engage with our customers resulting in an ease of doing business that exceeds expectations.  

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