The Story Of Western Star Trucks

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The Western Star 5700 on-highway truck with a sleeper cab. (Photo courtesy of Western Star.)

If the saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” ever applied to a company, it would be Western Star Trucks. The company has roots that go back to 1967, and ever since then, it has been dedicated to building customized specialty trucks. The company is dedicated to ensuring durability and reliability with every truck it releases into the market. Additionally, the company focuses on the needs of every customer that comes its way.

Early Days

Western Star started out as a division of the White Motor Company in 1967, but after White fell into insolvency, all of Western Star’s Canadian assets were sold to Nova and Bow Valley Resource Services in 1980. These two energy companies, which were based in Calgary, Alberta, also received the Kelowna, British Columbia, plant, where Western Star was born, as part of the deal.

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The Western Star 4900 vocational truck configured for logging operations. (Photo courtesy of Western Star.)

Western Star models were used primarily for rugged, heavy-duty mining, oil transportation, and logging, and by serving those industries, the company’s manufacturing plant in Kelowna grew to 250,000 square feet plus some 50,000 additional feet reserved for warehousing. Building on this success, the company also started designing legendary trucks for on-highway use.

Acquisitions & Moves

In 1990, an Australian named Terrence Peabody purchased the company and kept it moving in the right direction. In 2002, two years after Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) acquired Western Star, the company’s manufacturing was moved to a facility in Portland, Oregon, and officially joined the Freightliner Trucks division as a DTNA subsidiary. Today, Western Star continues operating in Portland, with some manufacturing also being done at a plant in Cleveland, North Carolina.

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The Western Star 6900XD Offroad truck configured as a dump truck. (Photo courtesy of Western Star.)

Eyes Forward

Despite staying true to ideals from over 50 years ago, Western Star also utilizes the most modern manufacturing processes available today for maximized product quality and durability. The company keeps an eye to the future in an effort to determine what drivers and fleet managers will need in the years ahead. The company currently manufactures the 4700, 4800, 4900, 5700XE, and 6900 models, which, depending on the configuration, can be used as on-highway, vocational, or off-road trucks. And while all of these models certainly keep driver comfort, aerodynamics and style in mind, the main focus continues to be on building durable, reliable, best-in-class heavy-duty trucks that go to work for years to come.