The new plant is located next to the Utility Trailer Southeast Texas dealer location and will be operated by ‘Cargobull North America’, the joint venture established by the two companies last year.

The companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in order to explore potential collaboration in EV developments, components and joint business opportunities with a focus on the European and South American markets.

The EV Star REEFERX has been designed for the mid to last-mile fresh and frozen foods delivery market. Built on the GreenPower EV Star Cab chassis, the truck has a payload capacity of up to 5,500 lbs (2.5 tonnes).

Capable of handling up to 1400 amps and 900 volts, the Eaton Bussmann series of high-powered  fuses are customisable, meaning they can be tailored to particular specifications. Paralleling multiple fuses can increase current capability.

The facility will increase the supply of its high-powered fuses for EVs and other applications. The 10 million USD investment in this facility is part of a 750 million USD investment strategy into the company’s North American manufacturing base.

Currently in series production in Joliet, Illinois, the 127,000 pound (or 57.6 tonnes GVW) truck is powered by a TM4 Sumo electric powertrain from Dana and is fitted with a 630 kWh battery pack which provides a range of 275 miles (440kms) on a single charge.

Hundreds of journalists packed the plush conference room on the first floor of the brand-spanking-new building for the big reveal. Interestingly, the themes continually reiterated by the various Conti staff included sustainability, cost pressure, digitalisation driving efficiency as well as compliance & safety.

The MoU outlines an investment over a span of five years, with the potential to generate up to 5,000 jobs, both directly and indirectly.

The plant is to have the capacity to produce 2,500 buses annually, but has been designed with the opportunity to double this, when required.

ADL has won a contract to deliver 29 of its next-generation Enviro500EV electric double-deck buses, to Canadian transport operator BC Transit* in British Columbia, Canada. The vehicles will be built in North America, through build partner Big Rig Manufacturing.

Irish reefer operator, McCulla is set to trial Hydrogen Vehicle Systems’ hydrogen fuel cell HGVs in 2025 to assess the performance and TCO of the vehicles to explore the potential eligibility to be integrated into its fleet.

The company has invested GBP 700,000 in a new automated curtain strapping machine for producing max height curtains. The company said the investment offers improved efficiency and vastly increased throughput with the machine able to produce 32 pairs of curtains per day.