Manac moves

In a deal worth $15 million, Manac will build 600 53-foot aluminum van trailers for S.L.H. Transport of Kingston, Ont., with deliveries scheduled for between May and August of this year. Production will take place in Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, Que.

In January, Manac permanently closed its van trailer plant in Orangeville, Ont., and laid off 245 workers. The factory had been temporarily shuttered since July 2003. “Despite some signs of a recovery in the industry, the strength of the Canadian dollar has had a significant effect on the mid- and long-term potential for profitability of the Orangeville plant,” Manac president and CEO Charles Dutil said in a statement. “We will concentrate our efforts on our value-added products that are used in many other segments of the North American semi-trailer industry.”