Mack Trucks opened a new Mack Academy facility in Tinley Park, Illinois, to better support battery-electric vehicle (BEV) training; the academy will also provide dealers and customers with easier access to training in the central US.
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 US.
The Mack Academy signed a seven-year lease for the 14,865-sq-ft Tinley Park facility located 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,” says 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-sq-ft bigger than our previous location, so it fulfills our need for more space for BEV-specific training.”
BEV coursework at Tinley Park will focus 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 technician training does not disrupt those classes.
MACK LR ELECTRIC
The next generation LR Electric features 42% more energy and a standard 376 kWh total battery capacity. This offers an increased range compared with the first generation LR Electric. Featuring twin electric motors, the LR Electric offers 448 hp 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-lb rear axles.
Easily identifiable by a copper-colored Bulldog on the cab denoting the electric drivetrain, the LR Electric’s vehicle propulsion is offered through four NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide) lithium-ion batteries that are charged though a 150 kW, SAE J1772-compliant charging system. The four batteries also provide all power for every onboard accessory, driven through 12V, 24V, and 600V circuits. The two-stage regenerative braking system helps recapture energy from the hundreds of stops the vehicle makes each day.
The Mack Trucks Academy has six training locations throughout the US and Canada. Mack also operates training facilities in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia; Grand Prairie, Texas; and Toronto, Canada.
Find out more, visit www.macktrucks.com.
