Local firm forms alliance with PDF

Dallas Smith Corp., with corporate offices located in downtown Greencastle, today announced an exclusive alliance with Brazil-based company, Process Development & Fabrication, Inc. (PDF).

The new alliance will consolidate all production of Dallas Smith Corp.'s Ford F-450/550 front wheel drive low floor chassis over to PDF.

"PDF embodies the two components we were looking for from a manufacturer/converter--production quality and solid company reputation," said Dallas Smith, president of the Dallas Smith Corp. (DSC). PDF will exclusively manufacture what DSC calls the Z-Frame, named for its form when the low-floor rear chassis connects to the traditional cab's frontal frame. The Z-Frame drops the floor height of the rear section or cargo area nearly 30 inches, providing vehicles with exclusive benefits such as curb height access for its' passenger vehicles (The Friendly Bus) and up to 35 percent more transportable cargo space for its' trucks (The Boss Van).

Making low-floor an option on the Ford F-450/550 Super Duty trucks opens the technology to a range of front-wheel drive applications such as ambulances, utility vans, first response vehicles and of course cargo trucks and shuttle buses. With more than 18 U.S. Patents at work in the design, the Dallas Smith Corp. engineered the patented AXLELESS suspension system that enables vehicles to be converted to a low-floor design.

"We are extremely proud to be announcing this alliance with PDF, and are confident in the success of how the companies will work together to grow the business. I am also excited that we are able to keep business growth opportunities like this new alliance in and nearby Greencastle," Smith said.

Always an innovator, in 1954, Earl Dallas Smith founded Dallas Smith Corp. (www.dallassmithcorp.com) in Indianapolis. In 1960, Smith formed a trucking division in Phoenix, Ariz., to transport new General Motors vehicles to auto dealers located in Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Mexico and Arizona that prospered for 25 years until Ryder acquired the successful trucking business in 1984.

For more than 50 years, Dallas Smith Corp. has been a leader in the transportation industry.

For more information about Dallas Smith Corp. visit online at www.dallassmithcorp.com or call 653-1715.