At the annual Heavy Duty Manufacturer’s Association breakfast at last week’s Mid-America Trucking Show, Dee Kapur put the spotlight on International Truck & Engine Corp.’s effort to build an all-new Class 8 truck platform.
“We’re going to spend $300 million to develop a new linehaul tractor for the trucking market,” said the recently installed president of International’s truck group. “We intend this product to be the most technologically advanced, highest value highway sleeper ever produced.”
International’s Class 8 redesign effort is phase two of a nearly decade-long plan to overhaul the company’s line of medium, heavy, and severe-service trucks. The medium-duty version of what International calls its “High Performance” line of trucks rolled out in stages from February 2001 through last year. Now comes the revamping of International’s over-the-road product line, said Kapur.
“In the near term, we need to build on the [redesign] of our medium-duty truck experience for the heavy-duty side of our business, to ensure that we are a significant player in that market,” he said.