Introduction of Low Floor Chassis Cabs on Ford Super Duty Series Trucks Success at NTEA
3/14/2006
DALLAS SMITH CORP’S Z-FRAMETM DRAWS CROWDS WITH THE MARKET’S FIRST LOW-FLOOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
Greencastle, Ind. – The Dallas Smith Corp. launch of the Z-FrameTM low floor rear chassis at NTEA -- The work Truck Show March 1st and 2nd in Atlanta registered as one of the show’s biggest hits. Showcased in booth 2247, adjacent to the Ford Trucks exhibit, the converted Ford F-450 Super Duty truck became a destination for show goers.
“The constant traffic around the Z-FrameTM truck was encouraging. People were curious – inspecting the design, asking questions and tossing out ideas of how the low floor frame would work for them,” said Bill Riley, vice president of sales and marketing for Dallas Smith Corp. “Our capability to go low floor on a Ford Super Duty truck really created that buzz we were looking for at the show.”
Interest in the bare Z-FrameTM chassis on the Ford F-450 inside the show was spawned by the low floor shuttle bus, known as the Friendly BusTM, that toured downtown Atlanta taking attendees to and from the Work Truck Show.
“We had people coming to the booth saying they had seen our low floor shuttle bus parked outside or that they had hopped a ride on it from their hotel,” Riley said. “With a step-in height only eight inches off the ground, The Friendly BusTM, looks so much different than all of the other buses in and around the show, at the airport and at the hotels.”
Dallas Smith Corp. invented and patented the Z-FrameTM low floor rear frame and its unique connection to a traditional Ford F-450/550 frontal frame, and signed alliances with key industry leaders to build the low floor vehicles. Detroit Custom Chassis (DC2) sister company to Detroit Chassis manufactures the Z-FrameTM and, along with Manning Equipment in Louisville, performs the conversion.
Dallas Smith Corporation has driven automotive innovation for more than 50 years. The company’s latest contributions -- Axleless® suspensions & Z-FrameTM chassis – enable low floor systems on vehicles in Class II through Class VIII. Applications include military units, transit shuttle buses and other medium and super-duty trucks and utility vehicles for municipalities, the federal government and private industry. Dallas Smith founded the company in 1954. The company remains family-owned and operated. For more information on Dallas Smith Corporation, visit the company online at www.dallassmithcorp.com or call the office at 765-653-1715.
Contact: Wendy Mehringer, 317-257-5225 x 16, wendy@willowmarketing.com
Contact: Linda Ratliff, 313-571-2100 x 506, lratliff@detroitchassis.com