By Jonathan S. Reiskin, Associate News Editor This story appears in the May 27 print edition of Transport Topics.
Navistar International Corp. announced last week it has hired Bill Kozek as president of its North American truck and parts business.
Kozek, who will start at Navistar on June 17, was most recently general manager at Peterbilt Motors Co., a unit of Paccar Inc.
A Peterbilt spokesman said Darrin Siver is already in place as Kozek’s permanent replacement. Siver had been general manager of Paccar’s parts business.
A 26-year Paccar veteran, Kozek will succeed Jack Allen at Navistar. Allen, now chief operating officer, was promoted in April when Troy Clarke was elevated to CEO from COO. Kozek will report to Allen.
“Troy, Jack and the entire Navistar team are executing an impressive turnaround, and with its new product launches, the company is well-positioned to begin winning back market share,” Kozek said in Navistar’s May 20 statement. “I look forward to working with them and our dealers in helping to lead the company back to its rightful leadership position.”
Lisle, Ill.-based Navistar’s market share has declined significantly due to its difficulties with the 2010 generation of diesel engine technology. As recently as 2010, Navistar was the second-largest seller of Class 8 trucks in the United States, trailing only Daimler Trucks North America and its Freightliner brand 33.9% to 25.1%.
But by 2012, Navistar’s share slipped to 14.8% of sales, and the company also trailed Paccar and Volvo Group’s Volvo Trucks and Mack Trucks, combined.
In January 2012, Kozek succeeded Bill Jackson as general manager of Peterbilt. Prior to that, he was general manager of Kenworth Trucks, Paccar’s other major North American truck brand, from 2008 to 2011.
For six months in between his general manager stints at Peterbilt and Kenworth, Kozek worked on purchasing and business development for Paccar in China. He began his career with Paccar in 1987.
“We look forward to the new perspectives and expanded strategic thinking he will bring to our core North America truck and parts business,” Clarke said of Kozek, 50.
Kozek’s selection means Navistar can take advantage of his well-established business relationships with engine maker Cummins Inc. and retailer Rush Enterprises.
Since August, Navistar has deepened its relationship with the independent engine maker, which now supplies the OEM with ISX15 engines and selective catalytic reduction systems for other power plants.
In 2012, Paccar’s Peterbilt and Kenworth units bought 60% of the North American heavy-duty engines Cummins made that year, according to WardsAuto.com.
As for Rush, the nation’s largest publicly traded truck dealer, it has long been associated with Peterbilt, but in 2010 the company decided to pursue further growth in truck sales by building a chain of dealerships for Navistar’s International brand.
A new aspect for Kozek will be Navistar’s Classes 4-7 medium-duty line.
While Paccar does sell in Classes 5-7, the medium-duty line at Navistar is a larger proportion of the company’s portfolio.
