Mack Academy opens new facility to support battery-electric vehicle technician training

Mack Trucks has opened a new Mack Academy facility in Tinley Park, Illinois, to better support battery-electric vehicle (BEV) training and to help provide dealers and customers with easier access to training in the central U.S.

The Mack LR Electric refuse model, Mack's first fully electric Class 8 vehicle, is now available for order and is supported by dealers and training facilities in various locations across the U.S.

Mack Academy signed a seven-year lease, with an option to renew, for the 14,865 square-foot Tinley Park facility located in a manufacturing park outside of Chicago. The Tinley Park location is newer, larger, and more modern compared with the previous site based in Joliet, Illinois.

"The Tinley Park Mack Academy is located in a central location so that dealers and customers needing training can easily travel to the facility," said Scott Behe, Mack Academy senior manager of operations. "It is in close proximity to both O'Hare and Midway airports, and the facility is about 5,500 square feet bigger than our previous location, so it fulfills our need for more space for BEV-specific training."

BEV coursework at Tinley Park is focused on BEV safety training, operation, repair, and sales. Other courses include diesel training such as engine overhaul, transmission design and function, and parts sales and warranty fundamentals.

The Tinley Park facility has two full-time trainers and offers technical training sessions up to four times a day. The site also features meeting spaces so those classes are not disrupted by technician training.

The next generation LR Electric, now available for order, features 42 percent more energy and a standard 376 kWh total battery capacity, offering an increased range compared with the first generation LR Electric. Featuring twin electric motors, the Mack LR Electric offers 448 continuous horsepower and 4,051 lb.-ft. of peak output torque from zero RPM. The LR Electric has a two-speed Mack Powershift transmission, Mack mRIDE suspension, and Mack's proprietary S462R 46,000-pound rear axles.

The Mack Trucks Academy has six training locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Mack also operates training facilities in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia; Grand Prairie, Texas; and Toronto, Canada.