The Shyft Group has announced a new service body operation in Lebanon, Tennessee, just east of Nashville. This new operation will serve truck dealers, distributors and fleet customers in surrounding states, including new chassis pools for expanded dealer sales and support.
The company notes that the new, purpose-built 70,000-square-foot facility will serve as a sales branch as well as operations for upfitting, mounting, fabrication, undercoat and paint services to Shyft’s service body and accessory brands including Royal Truck Body, DuraMag, Magnum and police car upfit and light accessories from Strobes-R-Us.
Royal Truck Body’s new steel XP Service Body will be distributed out of Nashville and the company says it is engineered to eliminate water, salt and chemical traps. It features a proprietary high-endurance coating system for a glossy and durable finish to seal out weather and wear, the company says. The coating formulation features a high-edge epoxy primer designed to provide an extra degree of corrosion resistance appropriate for heavy-duty on- and off-highway equipment. The scratch-resistant polyester topcoat also provides maximum gloss retention under sustained UV exposure, according to a recent press release.
The new XP coating system has been validated through third-party cyclical corrosion testing that reflects the equivalent of five years of real-world usage in corrosion-prone environments, the company says. In addition, the XP body has run durability testing on a proprietary impact-inducing shaker test rig and on the punishing proving grounds of a leading commercial testing facility equivalent to 250,000 miles loaded at full gross vehicle weight (GVW).
This new XP Service Body comes fully loaded with an extensive complement of standard features including open-top storage, internal hinges, factory-keyed locks as well as popular options such as ladder racks and an internal master lock security system. The XP Service Body is now available in 8- and 9-foot configurations with an 11-foot model coming later this year at Royal and DuraMag branches, including Nashville, as well as select dealers and distributors.
The DuraMag full portfolio of all aluminum premium service and truck bodies will also be offered at the facility.
