Daimler Trucks to Bolster Western Star Presence in Heavy-Duty Marketplace

This story appears in the Nov. 16 print edition of Transport Topics.

LAS VEGAS — Daimler Trucks North America moved to publicly strengthen its commitment to its small Western Star brand, hosting gatherings of dealers and industry media here last week.

At the sessions, DTNA introduced the team of officials who will be dedicated to expanding Western Star Trucks’ presence in the heavy-duty truck marketplace. Presently, Western Star is the smallest player in the North American heavy truck scene, specializing in severe-duty vocational and premium over-the-road vehicles.

“It’s time to make our own organization” for Western Star, said Michael Jackson, who has been named general manager of the brand. We are “renewing our interest in Western Star . . . [and] putting new energy into the brand.”

DTNA is moving to strengthen the brand months after pulling the plug on its Sterling Trucks division because of its broad overlap with the company’s primary brand, Freightliner.

DTNA spokeswoman Maria Mc-Cullough said the meetings last week were designed to show that “the Western Star brand is here to stay.”

The officials said they wanted to dispel rumors that DTNA might also abandon the Western Star label. The brand specializes in heavily built trucks, many of which are used in the mining, forestry and oil industries and often operate off-road.

Jackson said that for the first time, the brand would have its own profit-and-loss statement, its own product-development team and its own marketing team.

“Western Star will be a separate entity within DTNA,” he said.

Western Star also produces premium over-the-road trucks and competes in the high-end of the Class 8 market with the likes of Peterbilt trucks.

Ann Demitruk, marketing director for the brand, said that while Western Star’s overall sales are relatively small, the brand has more than 25% market share in its strongest traditional niches.

Through September of this year, 529 Western Star trucks were sold in the United States, a 44% decline from the 945 sold through first nine months of 2008, according to WardsAuto.com. In September, Western Star sold 72 trucks and for the year-to-date had 0.8% of the Class 8 market.

Richard Shearing, who is now the director of product planning for the brand, said officials were looking to fill in the current menu of vehicles. They are working on a “firm product plan and strategy,” he said.

Jackson said Western Star would offer “a complete line of products” to compete for customer dollars. But he said that, while the brand might offer some lighter-class trucks, it was unlikely that it would dip into the medium-class range, where Freightliner already competes with Navistar, Ford, Dodge, Kenworth and Peterbilt.

James Looysen, sales manager, said the company would continue to focus on independent drivers, because “owner-operators have been a sweet spot” for Western Star. Many of their owner-operators aren’t driving over-the-road, he said, but instead are concentrating on niches that have been the company’s focus, such as the oil industry.

The officials said Western Star trucks would continue to be manufactured at the old Freightliner plant in Portland, Ore. These trucks generally require more handwork and always have been produced on their own assembly line.

Looysen said 2010 engines would be available in Western Star models beginning in February, but he expected the company would have ’07 engines for customers who order them now until the end of March.

Jackson assumed his post at Western Star at the beginning of November, after about four years at DTNA. Before DTNA, he spent 23 years with Paccar Inc.

Demitruk came to DTNA in 1998 as marketing director for the Sterling brand and, three years later, also was given responsibility for Western Star.

Looysen took over responsibility for Western Star sales earlier this year, after running business and vocational sales for Freightliner Truck.