500,000th Kenworth rolls out of Chillicothe plant; goes to Melton

A Kenworth T680 76-inch mid-roof sleeper with a PACCAR MX-13 455-hp engine was the 500,000th truck produced at the Kenworth factory in Chillicothe, Ohio Wednesday, Feb. 24.

Kenworth Chillicothe employees gathered to help celebrate the plant’s milestone 500,000th Kenworth, a T680 76-inch mid-roof sleeper delivered to Melton Truck Lines. (Photo by Kenworth)

The milestone T680 was presented to Melton Truck Lines, a flatbed carrier based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during a special celebration before a gathering of Kenworth plant employees. Melton currently operates more than 1,100 Kenworth trucks.

Melton Truck Lines is an outstanding company that takes excellent care of its customers and drivers,” said Preston Feight, Kenworth general manager and PACCAR vice president. “Melton has supported its high standards by adding more than 500 reliable and comfortable Kenworth T680s to its fleet in the past two years, with 400 more to come in 2016. We very much appreciate Melton’s confidence in the T680, and we value our strong partnership.”

Feight presented a special commemorative plaque and the keys to the new Kenworth T680 to Bob Peterson, Melton Truck Lines chairman and CEO and his wife, Cindy Peterson.

“The Kenworth T680 provides our fleet with exceptional fuel economy, reliability and driver comfort and helps us grow our business and provide dependable service,” said Bob Peterson of Melton Truck Lines. “We truly value our partnership with Kenworth and MHC Kenworth. It’s an honor to be selected to receive the 500,000th Kenworth truck produced by the great employees here at the Chillicothe plant.”

Kenworth’s Chillicothe factory was opened in 1974. Kenworth is a PACCAR company.