Detroit Diesel Remanufacturing has resurrected its Series 60 engine production line at its facility in the Ninigret Depot in Tooele City.
The revival of the dormant line has resulted in at least 50 more full-time jobs for Tooele County, according to Ray Root, Plant Operations Manager. The jobs are projected to contribute over $1.5 million in wages per year to the local economy.
Prior to 2009, Series 60 engines were remanufactured at Detroit Reman’s Tooele facility.
The Series 60 production line at Detroit Reman’s Tooele facility has been shut down since the Great Recession when Detroit Diesel consolidated the production of its Remanufactured Series 60 engine to its Cambridge, Ohio facility.
The Series 60 engine is a four-cycle, heavy-duty diesel engine used in commercial trucks. It is also used for off-road applications such as power generation, marine vessels, and mining and oil production.
Formerly the signature engine of the company, the Series 60 engine debuted in 1987. It was the first commercial engine with complete electronic control, which helped reduce emissions and increase fuel efficiency, according to Root.
The revived production line at the Tooele facility has produced new engines, with the first new Series 60 off the line in July, and shipments to customers started in August. The line is capable of producing 250 engines per month.
“We have some employees that used to work the old Series 60 line,” Root said. “Even with their experience, we started training team members at the start of the year.”
Currently, Detroit Reman Tooele has 300 full-time employees. The Tooele facility already added 25 new full-time employees and Root anticipates hiring another 25 full-time workers in a variety of areas.
Many of the new full-time employees have come from Detroit Diesel’s pool of part-time or temporary employees, Root said.
After the Series 60 line shutdown in 2009, the Tooele facility concentrated on remanufacturing larger diesel engines and turbochargers, Root added.
A turbocharger is a device that uses a fan-like turbine to increase an engine’s power and efficiency by forcing extra air into the combustion chamber.
The largest engine that Detroit Reman Tooele remanufactures in Tooele is the Series 4000. The Series 4000 engine stands seven and a half feet tall and spreads out to 15 feet long. It weighs more than 14 tons.
The Series 4000 comes with 12, 16, or 20 cylinders arranged in a V format. The engines are capable of 2,200-5,800 horsepower.
The crankshaft alone on a 20V format Series 4000 engine is nine feet long and weighs almost one ton.
“Each cylinder in the Series 4000 has a displacement of 4.0 liters,” Root said. “Which is the same displacement as the entire engine in my Jeep.”
The Series 4000 engines are used in marine applications like ferries, tugboats, large yachts, and work vessels.
The Series 4000 engines are also used for large mining vehicles as well as pumps and generators for onshore and offshore oil and gas drilling.
The Tooele facility has turned up to eight remanufactured Series 4000 engines per month during the last two years, according to Root. “We see business on this engine line picking up as we add on additional models.”
Detroit Reman remanufactures the Series 4000, which Root stresses is a different process than a simple rebuild.
“When these engines leave here, they have been completely retooled and meet the specifications of a new engine,” he said.
One of the first tenants of the Utah Industrial Depot, Detroit Diesel came to Tooele in 1996 when the company purchased the former Tooele Army Depot’s 400,000 square-foot Consolidated Maintenance Facility for $10 million following the downsizing of TEAD in 1993.
Detroit Diesel Corporation, based in Detroit, Michigan, is a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America. Detroit Diesel is a manufacturer of on-highway heavy-duty diesel engines and axles for the commercial truck market. Detroit Diesel has a three million square-foot manufacturing plant in Redford Township, Michigan and six remanufacturing centers located throughout the United States.
Information for people interested in applying for a job at Detroit Reman Tooele can be found on Daimler’s job website at http://dtna.jobs.