Scania opens component paint shop in Netherlands

Today Scania inaugurates a new facility for painting cab and chassis parts in Meppel, the Netherlands. Trucks painted according to the special wishes of each transport company is a growing business. With in-house component painting operations, Scania will take advantage of that potential. The paint shop will have 150 employees when in full operation.

“Our investment in component painting is strategic,” says Per Hallberg, Head of Production and Procurement and a member of Scania’s Executive Board. “Shorter lead times and lower costs compared to painting individual components afterward make it a good arrangement for both our customers and Scania. The paint shop is dimensioned for efficient, high-quality industrial production, using methods that meet the latest environmental standards.”

The background to Scania’s investment is that more and more transport companies are choosing to highlight their market image by painting the rear-view mirrors, air deflectors and other plastic parts of their trucks in the company’s own colours. These parts are largely painted after the truck is delivered from the manufacturer, which is both time-consuming and costly.

The new paint shop is located at Scania’s facility in Meppel, which ceased operations when European cab manufacturing was concentrated in Oskarshamn, Sweden. The premises have been renovated and adapted for efficient handling of both pre-treatment and final painting of cab and chassis parts.

“The availability of qualified staff and proximity to the final assembly plant in Zwolle, which accounts for more than 50 percent of our European truck production, are the main factors behind the choice of location for the paint shop,” Mr Hallberg concludes.

Scania’s component paint shop in Meppel will supply the final assembly plants in Sweden, the Netherlands and France with painted cab and chassis parts.