The 350-plus International MaxxPro Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles in Iraq will continue to receive parts and support as the U.S. Marine Corps on Thursday, Dec. 13, awarded Navistar International Corp.’s military affiliate, International Military and Government, a $151.9 million contract.
This supplements previous parts and components contract awards now totaling nearly $300 million. The U.S. Marine Corps has ordered 2,971 MaxxPro MRAP vehicles to date to be delivered by April 2008. Overall, these vehicle, parts and support contracts total more than $1.8 billion.
“With our vehicles now in theater, Navistar’s global network provides the U.S. armed forces with the essential support they need to keep the MaxxPro MRAP mission-ready,” says Archie Massicotte, president of Warrenville, Ill.-based International Military and Government.
Navistar says its commercial scale brings the military unique advantages in engineering, manufacturing and parts and service support. The company has nearly 1,000 dealership locations worldwide, including facilities in 75 countries outside North America, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
“We are bringing the total package to the military – vehicles, parts and field support,” says Tom Feifar, general manager of global defense and export for Navistar Parts. “Our goal is to keep these vehicles up and running so the troops can focus on their mission. It’s an honor to be a part of the effort to support our troops.”
Last year, Navistar built more than 160,000 trucks and school buses and 560,000 diesel engines. “We already have delivered more than 700 MaxxPro MRAP vehicles and 60,000 parts pieces and components since receiving our first contract at the end of May of this year,” Massicotte says. “We are on our way to building 500 vehicles per month by February.”
