Assembly-line workers recently presented military personnel with the 1,000th International MaxxPro Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle from International Military and Government, a wholly owned affiliate of Navistar International Corp.
Elected officials, military personnel and numerous Navistar employees gathered together at the company’s plant in West Point, Miss., where final assembly of the MaxxPro MRAP vehicle occurs, to mark the occasion. MaxxPro MRAP vehicles are designed to protect troops from roadside bombs and other threats.
“The men and women of Navistar who build the MaxxPro MRAP vehicle are proud to know that we’re doing our part to help protect those who serve in harm’s way, and it’s a privilege,” says Archie Massicotte, president of International Military and Government.
Next month, Navistar will reach another production milestone of 500 MRAP vehicles in a single month. Moreover, the company says its swift production ramp-up is set to manufacture 1,000 MaxxPro vehicles in the months of March and April combined. Currently, there are more than 700 MaxxPro MRAP vehicles in theater.
In December, Navistar captured nearly 50 percent of the industrywide orders announced by the military – 1,500 MRAP vehicles and parts support valued at nearly $1.2 billion – in its single largest order to date of MRAP vehicles. Overall, Navistar’s MRAP orders (vehicles and support) total nearly $3 billion since the first production contract was awarded in May 2007. Navistar’s total order is 4,471 Category I MRAP vehicles to be delivered by the end of July 2008.
Navistar has delivered more than 60,000 parts pieces, components and other field support services to keep the MaxxPro MRAP vehicles mission-ready. Parts and service contracts thus far total nearly $300 million. In recent months, the Tank-Automotive and Armament Command (TACOM) of the U.S. Army also has awarded the company nearly $80 million in truck orders, including water and fuel tankers. In fiscal year 2007, more than 90 percent of Navistar’s total military sales were non-MRAP vehicles to both the U.S. military and U.S. allies.
With dealerships in Iraq and Afghanistan, Navistar has nearly 1,000 dealership locations worldwide, with facilities in 75 countries outside North America. In the past, Navistar has built more than 160,000 commercial trucks and school buses and 560,000 diesel engines in a 12-month period.
