TransChicago Truck, headquartered in Elmhurst, Ill., recently opened a new location in Joilet, Ill. The new location is on Interstates 55 and 80, an area that has heavy truck traffic.
“Chicago is a fairly large metropolitan area, and although our territory for Freightliner extends only 50 miles in actual distance, we have the challenge because of traffic of being able to service the customers throughout our entire territory,” says Michael Cappellett, vice president and general manager. “We felt we were not able do a very good job of that with just one location. It seems that business is picking up a bit, and parts and service is certainly strong, so we wanted to take the opportunity to really go after the market, and this was the best way to do it.”
In addition to parts and service, the Joliet location will offer new and used trucks. “We have been doing business with the SelecTrucks organization for about five years,” Cappellett says. “We are their captive service provider, and they saw the wisdom of being able to get down to this part of the territory. They have co-located with us in this building, so we have a corporate-owned SelecTrucks center and then us as the dealer that supports them.”
Open from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, the dealership currently has 10 service bays. The building is about 10,000 square feet, but it is on 10 paved acres, so there is room for expansion. “We are pretty cozy now, but as business ramps up and the word spreads that there is a Freightliner dealer this close to Chicago and very easy to access, I think we will get a lot more business,” Cappellett says. “Traffic is really difficult around the city of Chicago, and by putting in this facility, we have done a very good service to our Freightliner customers, both from Chicago and our transient and visiting customers.”
