Truck Centers, Inc. in Effingham, Illinois Opens 35,000 Square-Foot Morton Building

November 21, 2017

Truck Centers, Inc., a Freightliner dealership that includes sales, service, and parts, recently completed its first Morton building, located in Effingham, Illinois.  Totaling 34,942 square-feet, the building includes features such as Morton’s Hi-Rib steel, brick siding, a canopy, deep fascia overhangs, brick wainscot, door jamb protectors, and Morton’s Energy Performer insulation package.

Truck Centers, Inc. utilized Morton designBUILD, a dedicated team of project managers, drafting technicians, construction estimators, and on-site construction coordinators, to coordinate all project elements from start to finish.  Anthony Johnson, General Manager of the Effingham Truck Centers, Inc. location, had nothing but positive feedback regarding his experience with this process.

“I was here from pretty much day one when we started moving dirt, all the way to the completion date.  And the project manager was very informative and very helpful,” said Johnson.  “Every question I’ve ever had about any of the process, he walked me through it.  The (on-site) supervisor, I worked with hand-in-hand daily and there was a lot of times he would stop what he was doing and we’d go over the blueprints.  I was very impressed with Morton Buildings and the way they handled the project and very impressed with the finished product.”

The finished product is an impressive expanse of sales, service, and parts areas, all centered around increasing efficiency and customer comfort.  The facility includes a front and back parts and sales counter, offices for the service manager, parts manager, the general manager, office manager, and sales staff.  The shop includes 18 bays with a wash bay, a detail bay, an alignment rack, and overhead cranes. 

“We hear daily how nice it’s set up.  We get a lot of comments on the appearance of the shop and the efficiency of the shop,” said Johnson.  “At Truck Centers, our main goal is our customers and turn-around time and we realize the importance of whether you’re down for 2 hours or 2 days, so we try to get you in immediately and get you out as soon as possible.  This facility helps us to do that by having the overhead cranes and all the amenities and all of the other things that comes into play, getting you in and out and comfortable while you’re here.”

And what was one of his highlights of constructing this building with Morton?

“They asked your opinions on things, which I have dealt with other companies that just did it—it’s black and white, do what the prints say, and there’s no room for your opinion on it,” said Johnson.  “And I’ve spent several months in the process of building this and there was not a day that went by that my opinion wasn’t asked or we discussed what was going on.”

At Morton Buildings, communication is key to a successful project, even after construction is complete. 

“I have contacted the project supervisor several different times since the building has been completed, with questions about this or that and I was always answered immediately on the phone or had a return call or email within 2 or 3 hours,” said Johnson.  “It never even went until the next day.  The service after the fact is just the same as the service during the building process.  They’re easy to work with.  They keep you informed constantly.  If there’s anything that’s going to change, it’s addressed with you prior to the change.”

Morton is currently constructing a new Truck Centers facility in Foristell, Missouri.  To see more photos of this project, click here!

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