In 1923 Harry Kent and Edgar Worthington got together to tackle what many thought an unsolvable problem – to help the loggers of the Pacific Northwest as they struggled to haul heavy loads down tight, rugged, and muddy logging roads. By walking in those logger’s muddy boots and driving those slippery, winding mountain roads, they produced a truck as rugged and dependable as the loggers themselves. January 22, 1923, at 9:04 AM, Kenworth Motor Company was incorporated. Harry Kent and Edgar Worthington, the principal stockholders, combined their names to create the name Kenworth. The first Kenworth trucks rolled off the line in March of 1923. Kenworth has been innovating to solve their customer’s biggest transportation challenges ever since, and 100 long years later, they’re still trucking.
Skipping to the early 1970s, truck production kept increasing, which forced the need for a new plant to be built in Chillicothe, Ohio. Opening in 1974, the first Kenworth rolled off the Chillicothe assembly line on March 4. Building less than 20 trucks a day, the cabs were trimmed in the Seattle area and then shipped by rail car to Chillicothe. As production ramped up, the Chillicothe plant’s employees eventually began making and trimming the cabs on site.
The Kenworth Chillicothe plant is located on a 120-acre site that is 50 miles south of Columbus, Ohio. The plant is 622,000 sq. ft. and features advanced manufacturing technologies, including robotic assembly, and a state-of-the-art paint facility. When the T2000 model was introduced, new materials such as boron fiber structural members for the cab were used and new manufacturing methods were utilized, including the use of robots. Kenworth began a year-long job of building the specialized tooling and assembly systems needed to make these new trucks. Chillicothe was the only plant to build the T2000 – they started off building 20 trucks a day, but later were able to build 46 trucks during each single shift, mainly due to their unique application of robots.
Currently, the Chillicothe plant is building around 174 trucks a day (87 trucks per shift). Generally, it takes 8-10 hours to assemble a truck. Their goal is to build 200 trucks a day. One of their slowdowns is painting the chassis and then waiting the twenty minutes it takes to dry. Kenworth still manufactures their own fuel tanks inside the plant, right next to the assembly line, and it takes an entire truckload of freight to build one truck. To keep production moving, it takes 200 trucks, filled with the freight needed to build the Kenworth trucks, to deliver every day to the plant.
To celebrate Kenworth’s 100-year milestone, the company hosted an event billed “The World’s Best Truck Parade 2023” on June 16-17, 2023. This is only the second show held here in Chillicothe, as last year (2022) the company hosted its first-ever factory display at the plant, which featured about 50 invited trucks and a parade through town. But this year was really special, due to the fact that Kenworth has been building trucks since 1923. This company didn’t survive for 100 years by mistake!
“After a very successful inaugural Kenworth truck parade last year, this year’s event was even bigger and better as we continue to celebrate Kenworth’s 100th anniversary,” said Jack Schmitt, Kenworth Chillicothe Assistant Plant Manager. He also stated that, “It was great to see trucks dating back to the 1920s when Kenworth first opened its doors and to see the latest models, many of which were built here in Chillicothe. The event would not have been possible without the engagement of the Kenworth Chillicothe planning team, the drivers who came from near and far to show off their rigs, and the city of Chillicothe for coming out and supporting the parade.”
The 2023 Kenworth truck parade featured 50 trucks including both new and classic models, and some customized Kenworths, too. There was a truck from 1923 painted white with a red frame that was seen at the Kenworth booth at MATS this year. Trucks covering every decade were there, all in pristine condition, including Jay Van Kampen of Poquoson, VA and his very special 1976 Kenworth Bicentennial W900A (featured in our July 2023 edition last month).
Dale Gonyo Sr. of Chazy, NY brought a 1985 Liberty Edition W900 with a 400 Cat hooked to a 13 speed, and Paul Reinbold of Lebanon, PA brought his 1985 Liberty Edition K100E cabover, also with a 400 Cat and a 13 speed. We were lucky enough to get this pair of KWs together and take some photos. One of Kenworth’s 100th anniversary Signature Edition T680s was there, along with some of their Limited Edition W900L anniversary trucks. A special T680 Signature Edition truck that was recently delivered to Heartland Express was also at the show, and it represented the 750,000th Kenworth ever produced at the Chillicothe plant.
Trucks began arriving on Thursday, June 15, and were staged at Ross County Fairgrounds. Drivers enjoyed a seafood style boil for dinner. I arrived on Friday at the fairgrounds and started taking in all the trucks that had already arrived, that included some of the finest Kenworth trucks that have ever traveled the roads and highways of this beautiful country. After a look around, I headed to a tent that had been set up at the fairgrounds, that was filled with tables and chairs. There were several 15-passenger vans going back and forth to the plant for tours, and many of the invitees were able to partake in the fun. The weather was overcast and looked like it wanted to rain all weekend, but it never did.
The Chillicothe planning team, under the leadership of Jack Schmitt, were great hosts for this show. They had lunch for us before we took a tour of the plant, and the people that took us through the plant gave us a well-guided tour with a lot of facts and information. After the tours we all headed back to the fairgrounds and had a very nice dinner with chicken, pork chops, green beans, baked beans, baked potatoes, and a roll. The meal also included dessert and water or pop to wash it all down. After dinner they had an awards ceremony for the drivers who were invited, and passed out really nice plaques, a grab bag filled with goodies, and a special 100th anniversary Kenworth bag. After taking pictures at the ceremony, I walked around and took more pictures and started talking to the drivers, which I love to do.
I got the chance to talk to Chris Koeing of Oronoco, MN – he owns a 1998 W900L 75th Anniversary Limited Edition Kenworth. The truck was used to haul the special Kenworth trailer for the 75th anniversary tour. The truck only has 46,000 miles on it, and the 75th anniversary trailer that was used on that tour is now being used for the 100th anniversary tour! Josh Lemke brought his mint green 2020 W900L, which is fitted with a cool stainless steel sleeper, a 605 Cummins X15, and an 18 speed automatic transmission, along with a matching stainless trailer behind it. Aaron Kimball is the usual driver of this truck, but since he couldn’t make it to the show, I had a great time talking to Josh and his wife and son, instead.
During the entire event, there was a video crew hired by Kenworth interviewing many of the Kenworth owners, and from what I was told, they are going to produce a special video for the 100th anniversary. The video crew seemed to be everywhere during this event, so it will be interesting to see what they come up with. Quiet on the set! Apparently, their sensitive microphones could pick up a conversion from across the street. Another person I got to meet was Colby Williams of Fueled Photography. He actually came up and introduced himself to me! He does great work and has done a lot for Kenworth (and is a great friend to 10-4 Magazine). If you have seen the 100th anniversary W900L brochure and seen that shot in front of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, that is his work.
Saturday morning the trucks were moved from the fairgrounds over to the assembly plant. The weather was just beautiful, with clear skies and a very comfortable temperature. And with that, Kenworth Family Day 2023 officially began. I think the employees and their families started showing up around 9:00 AM. Employees who work in the plant got to see the trucks that have gone down their assembly line (or another). I talked to one family there that had three generations of workers at the plant. It was great to see them comment on the trucks that were at the show and the effort that it took to build them, and cool to watch the Kenworth employees and Kenworth owners interact.
By the time I arrived that morning, some trucks were already staged, and more were still coming in. I made my rounds, taking pictures and talking to some of the Kenworth owners, such as Debbie Setter of Fargo, ND (featured in our March 2022 edition). We talked a lot about her 2019 W900L, and about her mom and dad. I really enjoyed talking to her – she definitely made me laugh. Then, later, I talked with Jeremy Jansen of Wayne, NE who brought his 2022 W990 with a 565 Cummins, an 18 speed, 3.25 rears, and a 303” wheelbase. He was at MATS last year, and it was the only W990 at the show. I finally got to meet Adam Kimball of Cumming, GA who drives a white 1997 W900L with an Aerodyne One sleeper. This is a very clean truck with an N-14 Cummins, an 18 speed, and a 260” wheelbase.
Towards the end of the show, I was talking with Tom Strese of Farmington, MN who owns a 1989 T600A. Back in the days, Canepa designed this truck, which was popular with a lot of racing teams in the late 80s and early 90s. The truck is black now, but it was originally red. As we were talking, he introduced me to Gary Ries of Hastings, MN who had brought a few trucks, including a 1974 K125 with only 539 miles on it! He also brought Tyrone Malone’s 1974 W900 “Super Boss” truck, along with a truck called “Bounty Hunter” which was featured on 10-4 Magazine’s July 2009 cover before Gary owned it. Gary is definitely a true gearhead with all the vehicles he owns, and I truly enjoyed meeting him and talking to him.
Another guy I hadn’t seen for some years was Paul Cox. I got to meet him back in 2017 at the TFK show in California. It was great seeing him and talking to him again. On his way to Chillicothe from the ATHS show that was held in Reno, NV he blew a turbo 18 miles outside of Chillicothe. He limped it in, and then on Friday afternoon, with the help of other drivers, he got another turbo and got his 1979 K100 Aerodyne running again (this truck was featured on 10-4 Magazine’s June 2019 cover). Paul invited John O’Shea from Ireland to come with him on his trip from Reno to Chillicothe. Paul offered John a chance to drive, but he declined that offer. John bought a 1980 K100C Aerodyne several years ago from here in the states, and then had it shipped to Ireland.
For the Kenworth employees and their families, the show went until 4:00 PM. At that point, after the employees cleared out, the trucks started moving toward the huge Kenworth sign that is mounted on the front of the factory to have pictures taken. From there, the trucks headed back to the staging area, preparing for the convoy through town. The Kenworth team provided pizzas and refreshments for the drivers and their families, before heading out for the evening convoy through Chillicothe.
Heading to downtown Chillicothe where the parade was going to be held, I couldn’t believe the number of people that showed up – it was way more than the previous year, for sure! All 50 of the invited trucks were in the parade. They had a route set up like last year that took them on a path through downtown and eventually put them in front of the iconic Majestic Theatre. This theatre was built in 1853 and marked the beginning of better entertainment in the city. A speaker announced the driver’s name and where they were from, along with the year and model of their truck. It provided a great opportunity to get a picture while they were stopped in front of the theatre, underneath an arch, with a lighted sign. The last truck in the parade was a black 100th anniversary W900L with a Studio sleeper (truck #001), pulling a flatbed trailer with Nashville recording artists The Mantz Brothers Band playing live.
To support the local community, the Kenworth Chillicothe plant and the United Way of Ross County teamed up to coordinate a 50/50 raffle with the proceeds going to United Way of Ross County. During the parade, Kenworth Chillicothe employees and members of the United Way walked around selling the tickets. The Kenworth Chillicothe plant also raised money for the nonprofit organization through sponsorships of the VIP area along the truck parade route. In total, more than $22,000 was donated to the United Way of Ross County.
This show was a great experience. I got to see the people who build the trucks, the drivers and owners that love them, and a town that absolutely loves the Kenworth company – they all shared a love for Kenworth! And the people of Chillicothe are just awesome.
Kenworth is my favorite brand, and over the years, I have owned two of them – a 1987 K100E Aerodyne and a 1992 W900L with an Aerodyne One sleeper. This was a super cool event for me to attend. Thanks to everyone that made this happen, you did a great job! Congratulations to Kenworth for turning 100 – that is most definitely an amazing achievement worth celebrating.
