Graycor Construction Company recently completed a major industrial building project for Navistar International Corporation. Graycor was retained by Navistar as construction manager to renovate and expand Navistar’s existing Melrose Park Engine Plant into a state-of-the art Truck Development & Technical Center. Navistar also manufactures engines at the facility.

Navistar International manufactures and sells commercial and military trucks, buses, diesel engines, and recreational vehicles worldwide. New and renovated space totaled approximately 700,000 square feet on 38 acres. The renovated Truck Development & Technical Center contains a new tractor trailer and military vehicles development building, a new environental lab to test the performance of vehicles in extreme weather conditions, a new dynamometer to test truck performance, new R&D labs and a new main entrance. The environmental labs are able to test vehicle performance in temperatures ranging from -40 degrees to 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

The success of the complex project was predicated on Navistar’s and Graycor’s intense coordination and scheduling flexibility to adapt to a dynamic operating environment while maintaining the highest safety standards. The project required Graycor to complete its work within a live operating facility. “We are proud that we could deliver a value-added construction solution to a long-time trusted manufacturing client without interrupting Navistar’s operations within the facility”, stated Graycor Senior Project Manager Dave Talbot. Graycor has been providing construction services to Navistar International (and its predecessor International Harvester) for almost 80 years.