Kalmar Delivers 60,000th Terminal Tractor, Announces T2 Model Now in Full Production
By Bruce Harmon, Staff Writer
This story appears in the June 15 print edition of Transport Topics.
OTTAWA, Kan. — Kalmar Ottawa delivered its 60,000th Ottawa terminal tractor earlier this month to longtime customer Averitt Express of Cookeville, Tennessee, after a media presentation of its new Ottawa T2 model, now in regular production at the company’s revamped, 300-employee factory here.
David Wood, vice president for sales and marketing in the Americas, said Kalmar Ottawa produced its 50,000th tractor in 2011 and that the redesigned factory can turn out 15 to 20 units per day when running at full capacity.
While the new T2 and its predecessor T1, introduced in 1993, are both being made now, the company has stopped taking orders for the older model. It already has sold 1,400 T2s.
A new tractor’s cost has nearly doubled in the past few years to nearly $100,000 for some models, sometimes impinging on customers’ capital expenditures, so “renting has become a major trend,” and the company is changing its approach to emphasize renting, Wood said at a June 4 press tour.
Wood said Kalmar Ottawa’s dealer-owned rental fleet has almost doubled since 2011, which he called “a fundamental shift and a trend that will continue.”
Ottawa, which invented the terminal tractor in 1958, has a 60% share of the terminal-tractor market and tends to cost 3% to 4% more than competitors Capacity, Tico and Autocar, Wood said.
Originally known as Ottawa Steel Products, the company was bought in 2005 by Helsinki, Finland-based Cargotec, a global manufacturer of material-handling equipment, and is part of Cargotec’s Kalmar division.
The company offers a natural-gas model and is exploring other propulsion methods such as hybrids or all-electric, but “none are commercially viable at the moment,” Wood said, although he said he foresees significant technological breakthroughs in the near future.
He did say that propane-fueled engines “offer some fascinating opportunities for yard tractors.” Initial installed costs for propane are much lower than costs for natural gas, and fuel is readily available.
“We see solid potential in the near term for propane as a viable alternate fuel,” Wood said.
The T2 model, introduced in 2014, features improved corrosion resistance, a more spacious cab with improved visibility and a wider door, rollover protection as standard, redesigned front suspension and an improved lift mechanism. The rarely used side door has been eliminated, so the only entry is through the back door.
The exhaust system is repositioned from earlier models, allowing for a larger fuel tank, the company said, adding that service access is improved.
Driver comfort also is improved on the T2, with an insulated cab cap and a wider and deeper cab outfitted with a cup holder, coat hook and a dashboard mount for telematics equipment.
