Master Planning and More for Mack Trucks Facility

With Mack Trucks’ vision to honor their history and solidify their place in Lehigh Valley for generations to come, Bohler stepped in as a dedicated partner, empowering their commitment to community and innovation.  

By engaging Bohler early in the process, Mack leveraged our expertise to navigate complex development challenges, build consensus among stakeholders, and bring their bold expansion to life. Our team’s comprehensive planning, engineering, and permitting services supported a seamless, $71 million investment project, sending a strong message of Mack’s deep roots in Lehigh Valley, dating back to the early 1900s. 

The 84,000-SF expansion project consisted of three additions to the existing building, a new audit building, and expanded facilities for truck parking and loading. Bohler provided master planning, site civil engineering, permitting, and landscape architecture services. 

Early Engagement Brings Big Ideas

Joining the project team early in the planning process, Bohler had the opportunity to hear from stakeholders and understand their overall objectives before starting design. Mack’s vision for the upgraded facility was to boost efficiency and customer service by increasing production and broadening product lines. 

Bohler partnered with Mack to analyze their ideas, prioritize improvements, and optimize their development budget. During these planning sessions, our team identified ways to make the biggest impact on improving overall site circulation and parking layout, resulting in more streamlined operations for all departments. 

Creating a master plan that incorporated these upgrades, Bohler also strategized and accounted for future site improvements. This further reaffirmed Mack’s commitment to remaining in Lehigh Valley, while minimizing the potential for duplicate efforts in the years to come. 

Improvements Translate to Accelerated Growth

With a solid master plan in place, Bohler and the project team continued to identify opportunities for improved site efficiencies as the project progressed into the design phase. Bohler simplified the stormwater management plan by consolidating multiple systems into one, saving time, costs, and space for future development. 

Our engineers redesigned the loading dock layout, truck parking, and traffic circulation. This improved Mack’s ability to get large trucks into, out of, and around the 140-acre site, and significantly enhanced their overall distribution capabilities. 

Within the plant, the building expansions enabled the company to reconfigure internal assembly lines in time to meet production deadlines for a new product. With well-organized plant operations now delivering more products, Mack Trucks successfully accomplished their initial project goals while reasserting its commitment to the local community. 

Mack’s Lehigh Valley operations continue to excel. Experiencing accelerated growth, the company is now moving forward with two more building additions and a parking expansion. These phases will enable Mack to add a new assembly line and once again grow their product line. 

According to Project Manager George Hartman, “The key to [our success] was building relationships with Mack’s stakeholders during those early meetings. It was important for us to listen to them, engage in conversation, and really understand what they wanted to accomplish in the long run. This resulted in a design that fulfilled their current goals and positioned them to be successful in accomplishing future ones.”