Hendrickson powers up new solar farm

Hendrickson’s new solar farm in Crest Hill, Illinois, is now fully operational and powering bumper production with renewable energy for the first time.

Located adjacent to Hendrickson’s bumper manufacturing facility in Crest Hill, the solar farm includes over 2,040 solar panels and is designed to produce an estimated 1.55 megawatts-hours annually, making a “significant” step forward in Hendrickson’s sustainability strategy, the company reported. This output is enough to power the entire plant while delivering excess electricity back to the grid, supporting Hendrickson’s operations and the broader community.

“By generating renewable energy on site, we are reinforcing Hendrickson’s long-standing focus on reliability, engineering excellence, and lifecycle value for our customers, while taking meaningful steps to lessen our impact on the environment,” Matt Joy, Hendrickson president and CEO, said in a news release.

Hendrickson’s Crest Hill plant produces bumpers for major Class 8 truck OEMs, school bus manufacturers, and the North American replacement bumper market. With the solar farm now online, those bumpers can be manufactured using renewable energy.

Bringing the project to this stage required extensive planning, coordination, and persistence across the organization, the company added.

“This project took patience, collaboration and a lot of behind-the-scenes work to get us to the point where we can say our bumpers are being produced with renewable energy,” Joy concluded. “We’re proud of our team and grateful for everyone who contributed to making this vision a reality.”