Fontaine Modification Vocational Services is reopening its 45,000-sq.-ft. modification center in Garland, Texas. The Garland facility has been closed since 2012, when most of the truck production that it supported moved away from Garland.

Since 2012, demand for modifications on Peterbilt trucks produced in Denton, Texas, has grown steadily, according to Fontaine. Currently those trucks are modified in Charlotte, N.C., and Gainesville, Ga.

Fontaine noted that moving all Peterbilt production to Garland allows trucks to be modified and then be placed back in the OEM shipping system.

“Using the Garland facility enables us to be closer to Peterbilt’s manufacturing facility in Denton and also to consolidate work that had been done in Charlotte and Gainesville,” explained Ivan Barnes, general manager of Fontaine’s Garland facility. “There has been a lot of growth over the past year in the auto hauler segment, along with requests for additional modifications on Peterbilt trucks. This consolidation will help us be more efficient and improve vehicle turnaround time.”

Limited production will begin in Garland this month, and the facility is expected to be fully operational in early 2015.