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LAS VEGAS – Dealers wishing to survive a period of low new truck sales should invest in their parts and service departments as an alternative source of revenue.

Top executives from four prominent truck manufacturers told truck dealers meeting here Sunday that maintenance work is the leading opportunity for new revenue. They said trucking companies, private fleets and owner-operators will all need more help on maintenance.

irst, they said, engines with tougher pollution controls mandated by the federal government for this October are more complicated and will need to be worked on by highly trained technicians.

Also, if companies postpone the purchase of new trucks to avoid those engines, they will run their current trucks longer, and that, too, means more maintenance work.

Speaking to the American Truck Dealers were Edward Caudill, general manager of Kenworth Truck Co.; Nicholas Panza, general manager of Peterbuilt Motors Co.; Paul Vikner, president of Mack Trucks and David Hansen, a vice president at General Motors.

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