Mack Trucks cuts the ribbon on new Experience Center

Mack Trucks cuts the ribbon on new Experience Center

We take a tour of the new facility and test out some trucks on the newly renovated test drive course.

The $3.2 million renovation features a reconfigured floor plan, facility enhancements and additional road obstacles to the onsite test track. The 160,000 square-foot Mack Experience Center rests on 60 acres of property and offers a new welcome area, brand room, briefing room and a new second boardroom. The test track now includes a mud and rock pit area to demonstrate vocational capabilities.

The redesign work began in December 2022 and the aforementioned a briefing room where customers learn about products, services and support. The enclosed space is large enough that a Mack Class 8 vehicle can be in the room during discussions. Additionally, the Mack Historical Museum also was recently upgraded with a new gallery floor, graphics and heritage displays.

The recently revamped product showroom now includes a lift that unveils the inner workings of the Mack truck, allowing you to witness the interplay of advanced trucking technologies.

Outside, the revamped course now offers a more immersive experience specifically designed for evaluating vocational trucks. It features various obstacles such as a mud pit, gravel pit, and bumps, along with a side beam to showcase the truck’s command steer and crawling capabilities and 15% graded hill to demonstrate each trucks torque and shifting abilities from EVs to diesel engines.

Mack Trucks history on display

Take a walk down Mack’s memory lane in the updated historical gallery.

If you share my appreciation for Billy Joel’s music, chances are you’ll readily connect the vibrant heritage of Allentown with his 1982 chart-topper. This iconic song delves into the narrative of the rise and fall of the steel industry, focusing particularly on the city’s iconic Bethlehem Steel, serving as the song’s main source of inspiration.

Having explored the company’s historical gallery, it was time to uncover the secrets concealed beyond the sound-proof vault door. Not only did the noise barrier serve as a visually appealing backdrop, but it also played a vital role in product testing. Within this room, Mack trucks were meticulously examined to identify and eliminate any undesirable sounds emitted from the vehicles. This meticulous process enabled the company to design engines while ensuring quiet, smooth performance.

Calling all Transformer fans! Does this one look familiar to you? It should. This Mack Truck is officially named the CTP713, a six cylinder diesel 2006 Mack Granite, however, it is more commonly known to be the Megatron used on-screen for Transformers Dark of the Moon. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to be in this trucks way.
This 1907 sight-seeing bus was the Mack brothers first engine product, however the brothers quickly moved into the commercial space shortly after.

The museum will open to the public on June 12.

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