Terex Corporation announced in April that its joint venture, American Truck Company (ATC), has been selected as the preferred bidder by the Ministry of Defense of Israel (IMOD) to supply the Israel Defense Forces with 315 medium tactical trucks and associated support.

The anticipated order value is in excess of $50 million. The announcement follows the conclusion of a lengthy competition between ATC and other U.S. truck manufacturers that included extended testing of vehicles and an evaluation of after-market support capabilities. ATC will immediately enter into formal discussions with IMOD to finalize the contract details, which are expected to be completed during the first half of 2003. The parties anticipate that the contract will be funded under the United States Foreign Military Sales program.

The procurement includes a combination of cargo carriers (some with material handling cranes) incorporating ATC’s high mobility 12.6-ton (11.5 t )payload 6x6 tactical vehicles. Additionally, ATC would provide extensive driver and maintenance training, in-country service and spare parts. Delivery of trucks and training materials would be performed over the next 18 to 24 months.

ATC trucks are based on the proprietary design developed and tested over many years by Czech truck manufacturer, Tatra a.s., and features a "central backbone" chassis design with an all-wheel drive suspension that can be configured as 4x4, 6x6, 8x8, 10x10, and even 12x12. This modularity of the chassis and suspension design lends itself to a diverse range of vehicle configurations, including cargo carriers, load handling systems, weapon platforms, tankers, firefighting vehicles, aerial work platforms and more in a payload range from 5 to 40 tons.

"This selection represents a significant and exciting opportunity for Terex, ATC and Tatra, in which Terex has an equity investment," commented Ronald M. DeFeo, Terex’s chairman and chief executive officer. "ATC is the United States’ newest producer of heavy-duty off-road trucks. ATC brings to market a full range of tactical wheeled vehicles for the military and severe duty commercial applications. ATC’s vehicles offer leading off-highway mobility, payload-to-weight ratios, and outstanding durability and reliability at competitive prices and backed by excellent after-sales service.

"We have made strategic investments over the past year to better serve and penetrate the government and military markets, and now we see these initiatives starting to pay off," continued DeFeo. "In 2002, we had success selling our crushing equipment and rough terrain material handlers to the U.S. military, but this opportunity now opens the door for ATC into the tactical vehicle market. We believe this is an important first step for Terex, ATC and Tatra, as we were selected over experienced competitors. We believe the Terex value proposition of high quality products at reduced cost will provide us with a competitive edge in further penetrating this market."

This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.

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