Rihm Kenworth Opens Fourth Location, Expands Kenworth Dealer Network

Expanding its reach west across Minnesota, Rihm Kenworth, one of Kenworth's oldest continually-operating family-owned truck dealers, has opened its fourth location, a 16,000-square-foot full- service dealership in Sauk Centre.

The new Rihm Kenworth facility joins a Kenworth dealer network of more than 320 locations in the United States and Canada. The full-service operation is located at 805 Shamrock Lane on almost 9 acres near the intersection of U.S. Interstate 94 and U.S. Highway 71, just off of Exit 127 on I-94. Rihm Kenworth recently earned the 2011 Kenworth Medium Duty Dealer of the Year Award.

The dealership features nine service bays, with one bay dedicated to providing Kenworth PremierCare® ExpressLube services. The 5,500-square-foot parts department includes a 1,500-square-foot display area and a 4,000-square-foot parts warehouse offering excellent parts availability. Regional parts delivery complements the new dealership's parts department. A comfortable drivers' lounge offers a place for drivers to relax or catch up on paperwork while waiting for their trucks to be serviced.

"Our family is proud of our long heritage with Kenworth," said Kari Rihm, president and dealer principal of Rihm Kenworth. The company was founded in 1932 as a truck dealership by John B. Rihm, grandfather of Kari's late husband, John. In 1949, it joined the Kenworth dealer network and became the first Kenworth dealer east of the Mississippi River.

Now, Rihm Kenworth operates three other locations in Albert Lea and St. Paul, Minn., and Superior, Wis. Kari and John Rihm's son, J.B., represents the fourth generation of Rihms at the dealership and serves as the parts, marketing and sales manager for the company.

"Sauk Centre is a hub for truckers in central Minnesota, facing I-94, a main east-west truck transportation corridor through Minnesota. Our staff is dedicated to providing the same level of exceptional service that earned for us the 2011 Kenworth Medium Duty Dealer of the Year Award, " said Kari Rihm. "We think new Kenworth trucks, such as the recently introduced Kenworth T680 and the T660 regional hauler configuration, will be particularly popular among local truck fleets and operators."

Rihm Kenworth-Sauk Centre is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon. Saturday. The phone number is 320-352-8540 or toll-free 855-704-9211. Key personnel include: Bob Koller, branch manager; Bob Perry, service manager; and Eric Anderson, parts manager.

The new location is part of the Kenworth dealer network's constant commitment to superior satisfaction as demonstrated by Kenworth receiving the 2011 J.D. Power and Associates award for "Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Heavy Duty Truck Dealer Service."*

Kenworth Truck Company is the manufacturer of The World's Best® heavy and medium duty trucks. Kenworth is an industry leader in providing fuel-saving technology solutions that help increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. The company's dedication to the green fleet includes aerodynamic trucks, compressed and liquefied natural gas trucks, and medium duty diesel- electric hybrids. Kenworth is the only truck manufacturer to receive the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Excellence award in recognition of its environmentally friendly products. In addition, the fuel-efficient Kenworth T700 equipped with the low- emission PACCAR MX engine was named the 2011 Heavy Duty Commercial Truck of the Year by the American Truck Dealers. Kenworth's Internet home page is at www.kenworth.com. Kenworth. A PACCAR Company.

*Kenworth received the highest numerical score for heavy-duty truck dealer service in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Heavy Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study(SM). Heavy-Duty study based on 1,651 primary maintainers of 2010 model-year Class 8 heavy-duty trucks and measuring 4 manufacturers. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of primary maintainers surveyed in April-May 2011. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.