Parade of Kenworths honors company's Ohio manufacturing plant

The Kenworth truck assembly plant in Chillicothe, Ohio recently held its annual Kenworth Truck Parade in downtown Chillicothe. This year, the parade paid tribute to the plant’s 50^th anniversary.

The 2024 Kenworth Truck Parade featured more than 60 new, classic, and customized Kenworth trucks, including a vintage 1923 Kenworth and models built in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s through to present day trucks manufactured at the Chillicothe plant.

 Kenworth Chillicothe officially opened on March 4, 1974, and the plant’s first truck – a Kenworth W900 – rolled off the assembly line a day later. To commemorate this milestone, the parade was led by the 1923 Kenworth and a very special passenger: parade grand marshal and 50-year Kenworth Chillicothe employee, Dan Murphy. Murphy, a well-known and respected plant employee, was hired just days after the plant first opened in 1974. He began as a production specialist, was promoted to section supervisor, and served as liaison engineer until his retirement in May of this year.

The final truck in the parade was a T680 high-roof sleeper specially wrapped in a design honoring the plant’s anniversary with historical images of Chillicothe, landmarks in the community, photos of the manufacturing plant and past truck parades. The parade concluded with a live performance by the Mantz Brothers band from Nashville on a trailer pulled by the T680 set up as a full-production concert stage.

“The Kenworth Truck Parade has become a beloved June tradition in Ross County, made even more meaningful this year with the opportunity to celebrate 50 years of producing The World’s Best Trucks in Chillicothe,” said Jack Schmitt, Kenworth Chillicothe assistant plant manager. “We are grateful to this incredible community and the drivers who travel from near and far to make this special event so successful year after year.”

Leading up to the truck parade, the Kenworth Chillicothe plant held events at its facility for drivers and their families participating in and attending the parade. Drivers had an opportunity to tour the Kenworth Chillicothe plant to see where many of Kenworth’s trucks are built. The plant also hosted an employee event on the plant’s property during the day of the parade.