The first-ever Cat on-road trucks will be launched later this month by NC2 Global LLC, the global joint venture between Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) and Navistar, Inc. (NYSE: NAV).
The new trucks – the Cat CT 610 and CT 630 – are expressly designed and optimized for the Australian market and are being assembled at NC2’s manufacturing facility in Tullamarine, Victoria.
In a multi-million-dollar conversion overseen by Ted Pulver, NC2 manufacturing operations manager in Australia, the assembly facility, which was formerly used for production of Cat earth-moving equipment, has rapidly changed over to production of the first-ever Cat on-road vehicles.
“We have come a long way since NC2 was initially formed in September 2009,” said Jeff Tyzack, managing director of sales and marketing for NC2 in Australia. “Now we are building Cat trucks in Australia, for Australian conditions.”
The NC2 team has also moved quickly to prepare a network of Cat dealers who will sell and service the vehicles. The Cat dealers, operating initially in 54 locations, were selected based on market coverage, service orientation, experience with servicing Cat engines, and commitment to the on-highway truck market.
“We have established an NC2 Australian team that is addressing every aspect of customer needs,” Tyzack said. “Along with engineering and production, the NC2 team includes staff focused on sales, marketing, parts, service, finance and dealer operations. The team is working together to build a business model that is geared to the Australian market, and especially to the needs of the Australian customer.”
Both vehicles are conventional prime movers and will be available in day-cab and extended-cab options: