Mack Trucks

Mack Trucks' groundbreaking for a new engine development laboratory north of Hagerstown, scheduled for Friday, has been postponed because several guests plan to attend former President Reagan's funeral that day, Mack spokeswoman Patti Friend said. The groundbreaking for the $150 million transformation of the Hagerstown-area plant into the North American Centre of Excellence in Manufacturing for the Volvo Group has not been rescheduled, Friend said. Gov. Robert Ehrlich was expected to attend the event.

It's a bit like boot camp for bosses. A chief executive officer leaves the lap of luxury, takes on a secret identity and attempts to do the job of his employees. And, usually, doesn't do it very well. It's a working-class fantasy that is turned into reality each week on the hit CBS television show, "Undercover Boss. " The executives are humbled and the employees selected to train them become labor force heroes — maybe even celebrities. Mack Trucks Inc. employees Tracy Sweatt and Michael J. Davies might not put themselves in that category, but since appearing on the show, both said they've gotten a taste of star treatment.

Representatives from Mack Trucks and D.M. Bowman celebrated a milestone Tuesday as drivers prepared to take the manufacturer's 1,550th load of E-Tech engines and transmissions to its Winnsboro, S.C., plant. The shipment was the greatest number of loads D.M. Bowman has hauled to Mack's South Carolina plant in one year in their nearly 15-year association, said Roger Johnston, vice president and general manager of operations for Mack Trucks, which is a subsidiary of Renault V.I. Mack's Hagerstown powertrain plant turns out about 212 heavy-duty diesel engines each day, and employs 1,370 people.

A former Mack Trucks Inc. manager is returning to the company to head its Hagerstown powertrain plant starting Jan. 1, company spokesman John Mies announced Wednesday. Roger W. Johnston, 45, will replace Olivier J. Vidal as general manager, according to Mies. Johnston will be responsible for all aspects of manufacturing in Hagerstown, including production, quality, material, human resources and facilities, he said. The Pennslyvania Avenue plant produces heavy-duty engines and transmissions for Mack's on- and off-road trucks.

It has been two years since Sten-ke Aronsson came to Hagerstown from Sweden to make sure that the multi-million-dollar marriage between Mack Trucks and Volvo is a happy and productive partnership. But when Aronsson received the Hasgerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce's 2006 award for Business Person of the Year, I realized how little I knew about the man who now heads one of Washington County's most important industries. In contrast to Mack leaders of the past - John Bogdanski and Ross Rhoads, for example - Aronsson has been very much in the background.

Yes, that's Denny Slagle working in the Volvo Powertrain North America plant in Hagerstown. But it's hard to tell for sure. Slagle doesn't wear glasses, but he's peering through a pair of black spectacles in the plant, and his normally clean-shaven face is stubbled. That's a fake mustache, too. Slagle, the president and chief executive officer of Mack Trucks, Inc., is the latest company president to go undercover in his business in the upcoming episode of the CBS series "Undercover Boss.

It was a truck lover's paradise. Almost 150 trucks - dump trucks, tractor-trailer cabs, fire trucks and antique trucks - were at the Mack Trucks Inc. plant north of Hagerstown for the sixth annual Bulldog Roundup on Saturday. For $1, anyone with a driver's license could get behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer and drive around a fenced-off section of the parking lot. "I think I gave the guy whiplash," Donna Miller, 57, of Thurmont, Md., said of the truck driver who accompanied her on her big rig test drive.

  Evelyn Baker tours a mobile museum of Mack Trucks history, which stopped at the Pennsylvania Avenue plant in Hagerstown Thursday. The company is celebrating its 100th year and to commemorate the milestone the museum is stopping at Mack Trucks plants across the country. The museum is open to Mack employees only at this point. But the display will be returning to Hagerstown for the public to tour. photos: KEVIN G. GILBERT / staff photographer By JULIE E. GREENE / Staff Writer The big rigs built by Mack Trucks are known for being tough, an image evident in its Bulldog mascot.

By GUY FLETCHER Staff Writer Some laid off Mack Trucks Inc. workers are getting an early holiday present as increased production at the Hagerstown powertrain manufacturing plant is causing the company to recall as many as 50 people to their jobs. "It's a cyclical business. (Employment) fluctuates with production in the plant," said Mack spokesman John Mies. Mack employs about 1,200 people. Mack currently is producing about 112 engines a day at the Hagerstown plant, up from the 101-a-day level it posted in May, Mies said.

Mack Trucks Inc. increased its share of the heavy truck market for the sixth straight year in 1998, the Allentown, Pa.-based truck manufacturer announced Thursday in a press release. The company, a subsidiary of Renault V.I., has 1,370 employees at its Hagerstown powertrain plant, which produces diesel engines for its U.S. truck plants. Mack retailed 26,801 heavy-duty trucks in the United States in 1998, which represented a 12.8 percent market share compared to 12.5 in 1997, according to the release.

Born Feb. 12, 1955, in Hagerstown, she was the daughter of the late Warren S. Churchey and Jeanne E. Butts Zittle (Hewitt). Tanya was a 1973 graduate of Smithsburg High School and attended Messiah College. Tanya was diagnosed with stage 4 primary peritoneal cancer in July 2010. Since then, she defied the odds with her strength, determination, drive and faith in God to fight this rare type of cancer for the past 2 1/2 years with a fairly good quality of life. Tanya was a member of Maranatha Brethren Church in Hagerstown.

Stephen J. Vigh Jr., 75, of Gerrardstown, W.Va., passed away Wednesday, May 1, 2013, at his residence. Born Nov. 25, 1937, in Hatboro, Pa., he was the son of the late Stephen J. Vigh Sr. and Addie Roberts Vigh. He retired from Mack Trucks and was a part-time farmer. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Romig Vigh; children, Stephen James Vigh III,  Regina A. Nischan and Gerald C. Vigh; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a brother, Gerald Short.

Garman “Bob” L. Bowers Sr., 85, of Fairplay, Md., passed away Monday, April 22, 2013, at the home of his daughter. Born Oct. 11, 1927, in Sharpsburg, Md., he was the son of the late Kenneth W. and Nora (Benner) Bowers. His wife of 46 years, Wahneta F. Bowers, preceded him in death in 2002. Garman worked at Brandt Cabinet Works, Vertol Aircraft, Custer Channel Wing, Fairchild Industries, and retired from Mack Trucks, Inc. He was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Funkstown, Md. He was a U.S. Army Veteran of World War II. He is survived by one son, Garman L. Bowers Jr.; one daughter, Karen W. Pierce and husband, Michael A.; two grandsons, Michael A. Pierce II and wife, Kelly G., and Garman L. Bowers III and fiancée, Olivia F. Tomsic; one great-grandson, Joseph B. Pierce; and one great-granddaughter, Chloe M. Pierce.

Mr. Wallace V. Bricker, 93, of Mercersburg, Pa., passed away Saturday, April 20, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. at the Long Term Care Unit of Fulton County Medical Center in McConnellsburg, Pa. Born Nov. 26, 1919, in Mercersburg, he was the son of the late Charles G. and Ida Yost Bricker. Wallace worked for 20 years at Fairchild Industries and for 23 years at Mack Trucks, both in Hagerstown. He retired from Mack in 1983. He was a member of First Church of God of Mercersburg, where he was an elder for a number of years and also a former trustee and a former member of the Men's Bible Class.

Edgar Lee Swisher, 76, of Hancock, Md., died Tuesday, April 2, 2013, at his home. Born March 26, 1937, in Hancock, he was the son of the late George E. and Lillian Pittman Swisher. He was a 1956 graduate of Hancock High School. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving in the Korean War. He retired from Mack Trucks after 31 years working in maintenance. He is survived by his wife, Margaret L. Hull Swisher, whom he married June 21, 1963, in Hagerstown, Md.; one daughter, Shea Lee Hart of Hancock; one son, Corey L. Swisher of Hancock; two brothers, Norman Swisher of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., and Ronald Swisher of Hagerstown; and five grandchildren.

Ronald L. Kauffman, 70, of State Line, Pa., died unexpectedly at 3:51 p.m. Thursday, March 21, 2013, at Chambersburg (Pa.) Hospital. Born Feb. 19, 1943, in Waynesboro, Pa., he was the son of the late Oliver D. and Hazel I. (Snyder) Kauffman. He graduated from Quincy High School with the Class of 1961.   He married Phyllis (White) Kauffman on Feb. 17, 1995, in Hagerstown, Md. Ronald was employed as an engine tester for Mack Trucks, dedicating 45 1/2 years and many long hours to a job and a company he highly respected.

James E. Curfman, 76, of Smithsburg, Md., died Thursday, March 14, 2013, at Meritus Medical Center. He was the son of the late James and Mary (Sheffler) Curfman. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Jim worked at Mack Trucks. He loved the outdoors and spent many weekends fishing, hiking and bicycling with his brothers and nephews. In retirement, he volunteered for Hospice of Washington County. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Peggy (McCarty) Curfman; by his sisters, Patsy Snyder, Jean Simmers, and Betty Rider; and by his brother, Charles; and infant brother, Gary Curfman.

Kenneth Rudolph Hart, 73, of Falling Waters, W.Va., passed away Friday, March 15, 2013, at Heartland Nursing Home in Martinsburg, W.Va. Born June 4, 1939, in Big Spring, Md., he was the son of the late Albert Rudolph and Catherine Izetta Wylie Hart. He attended Clear Spring, Md., schools. He retired from Mack Trucks Inc. in 1995 after 30 years, and he retired from Homewood Retirement Center in 2005 after 10 years. He was of the Pentecostal faith. Kenneth is survived by his wife of 52 years, Bonnie L. Beasley Hart; a special niece, Christine Eichelberger of Falling Waters; two sisters, Joann Johnson of Clear Spring and Darlene Moats of Williamsport, Md.; and three brothers, Robert Hart, John "Mike" Hart and Ricky Hart, all of Hagerstown, Md. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by three sisters, Mary Wylie, Phyllis Sword and Linda Hull; and a brother, Rodney Hart.

William Edward Knepper of Hagerstown, Md., passed away on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013, at Waynesboro Hospital, Waynesboro, Pa. Born on Sept. 1, 1929, he was the son of the late Eleanor and Charles Knepper. Bill grew up in Funkstown and was a member of Boy Scout Troop 23, where he achieved the Eagle Scout rank on Sept. 11, 1944. He was a member of the graduating class of 1947 at Hagerstown High School and also attended Hagerstown Junior College. During his working years he held employment with Hagerstown Canteen Service, Fairchild Aircraft Division, State of Maryland and, in 1986 he retired from Mack Trucks Inc. Bill was one of the first Hagerstown employees to be hired by Mack Trucks.

James Herbert Shives, 78, of Hagerstown, Md., died on Monday, Dec. 24, 2012, at NMS Nursing Home, after a long battle with Alzheimers. Born Aug. 18, 1934, in Amaranth, Pa., he was the son of the late Ernest W. and M. Louise Sowers Shives. He graduated in 1952 from Warfordsburg High School. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving from 1954 to 1957. He was employed by Mack Trucks Inc., retiring in 1996. He was a member of Washington Square United Methodist Church, and served as chairman of the trustees for many years.