If you are sick of trekking up to Phoenix to service your Freightliner truck, you can take your foot off the accelerator and skip the drive up the I-10.
Freightliner of Arizona opened its first sales and service center in Tucson on March 1, but it held an open house Wednesday where about 600 truckers showed up to find out more about the business.
The new location at 4340 E. Tennessee St., near South Alvernon Way and East Irvington Road, has 16 employees and is the family-owned dealership's fourth location. The company also has shops in Tolleson, Chandler and Flagstaff.
Chuck Paynter, Tucson branch manager, said the new location will allow the company to capitalize on the heavy truck traffic on both the I-19 and the I-10.
"The 19 into the Nogales and Douglas area is a huge avenue for trucks coming up out of Mexico hauling produce," Paynter said. As of Wednesday, his location had sold three trucks.
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The Freightliner trucks, powered by engines from Western Star, Mercedes, Cummins, Caterpillar and Detroit Diesel, can serve as anything from dump trucks to fire trucks. New trucks can cost upward of $100,000, depending on how they are equipped.
Paynter said the site also has a full service center that can work on any make or model of truck or engine.
Kevin Heal, Tucson operations manager for Shred-it, an on-site document shredding company, said the area was in need of a Freightliner dealership.
"The Freightliner brand is one of the best brands in the country," said Heal, who attended Wednesday's open house. "We can (now) get our truck fixed and get it out faster if something breaks."
Doug Schmitt, owner of Tucson-based D & H Materials, said he has owned his Freightliner truck for between four and five years and while he didn't mind driving to Chandler for repairs, he said it's nice to have someone local.
"You can call (Freightliner) and they will ship (a part) to you, and it has worked out pretty well," Schmitt said. "(But) sometimes you just want to go grab something."
Paynter said that, while the truck market is a bit steadier than the automobile market, construction truck sales have slowed down. But he said they are showing signs of improvement.
"You have got to have trucks to deliver product," Paynter said. "Bottom line, that it is how that product makes it to the shelves. Trucks get it there."
Contact NASA Space Grant intern Ian Friedman at 434-4083 or at friedman@azstarnet.com