A spokeswoman for Lisle, Ill.-based Navistar didn’t return a message seeking comment Monday.
The Clark County Navistar plant today employs close to 1,500 workers and the company has thousands of retirees in the area.
Jason Barlow, president of United Auto Workers Local 402, which represents Navistar workers in Springfield, said he had no knowledge of company plans for space in Xenia. But he said Navistar has leased space in Urbana and even Columbus for storage in the past.
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Barlow said. “They have different warehouses.”
The space on Bellbrook Avenue is also used by Mahle Behr Service America LLC as an area to store spare parts.
In June, Navistar said it would add 300 employees to its Springfield workforce to build a cutaway model of GM’s G Van beginning early in 2017.
To do that, Navistar is retooling a production line in Springfield, Barlow said. Production could start in January or February, he said.
That manufacturing line has been closed since about 2001.
Navistar also revealed in September that the truckmaker has formed an alliance with Volkswagen Truck and Bus. The German automaker will invest about $256 million in Navistar in a deal that includes agreements to share technology and resources.
The deal strengthens Illinois-based Navistar’s financial position, while giving the German firm a foothold in the U.S. truck market. Volkswagen is taking a roughly 17-percent stake in Navistar, and will receive the right to appoint two directors to Navistar’s board of directors.
About the Author
