Navistar boss hints at Chatham start-up

CHATHAM, Ont. — Navistar is giving thought to re-firing the idle truck plant here, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

In a conference call with analysts last week, Navistar Chairman and CEO Daniel Ustian said if demand for new trucks continues to be higher than anticipated, he might have to decide by summer whether or not to declare the Chatham manufacturing plant open for business.

The plant, which not too long ago was Navistar’s major North American facility, closed in 2009 in the midst of a worldwide slump in truck production.

The closure coincided with expiration of Navistar’s contract with the Canadian Auto Workers Union.

Industry experts predict heavy-duty truck production to increase by as much as 58 percent this year.

“Do we need another manufacturing facility? We don’t know the answer to that," Ustian said.

He added that a decision on "whether Chatham fits with us or not" could reached by the middle of the year.

In order for the plant to open, a new union contract would have to be signed.

When it was running full-steam, the Chatham plant employed about 1,100 workers and was the biggest employer in town.