Navistar and ArvinMeritor Inc. today, July 23, announced that under the terms of a new long-term supply agreement, Meritor axles are now in standard position on International medium-duty trucks and IC Bus brand school and commercial buses. Also under the terms of the agreement, ArvinMeritor gains additional standard axle positions on International’s heavy-duty trucks. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“In working with ArvinMeritor, we’ve selected a premier axle-brake supplier – one which has been our standard Class 8 axle-brake supplier for more than 10 years,” says Jack Allen, president of the North American Truck Group for Navistar, based in Warrenville, Ill. “We’re confident that our customers will be extremely pleased with the performance of the Meritor axle. Our customers can feel comfortable relying on Meritor for drivetrain specification assistance, rapid response to troubleshooting and quality after-the-sale support.”
Allen says the agreement represents a natural extension of the longstanding relationship between Navistar and ArvinMeritor. “Both companies have aligned business goals focused on satisfying the end-user with quality products that exceed customer expectations,” Allen says. “In addition, ArvinMeritor is uniquely positioned to support Navistar’s aggressive growth strategy as it expands globally into new markets with a strong product portfolio.”
Effective July 13, Meritor axles now will be standard equipment on International medium-duty trucks and IC Bus school buses and medium-duty trucks, in addition to Class 8 trucks. ArvinMeritor will continue as Navistar’s supplier on its portfolio of military applications for programs including Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, Tactical Support Vehicles (TSV), Military Commercial Off the Shelf (MilCOTS) – the first element of Canada’s Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) – and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) through the U.S. military’s Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM).
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to expand our relationship with Navistar,” says Carsten Reinhardt, president of Commercial Vehicle Systems business for ArvinMeritor, based in Troy, Mich. “With this new agreement, we are looking forward to supplying Navistar with the most reliable and technically advanced axles on the market today and will work hard to meet the expectations of Navistar’s dealers and their customers.”
