(Watford, 13 April 2012): Iveco Defence Vehicles has completed delivery of its largest ever order in the UK of 206 6×6 and 8×8 Trakkers to support the Royal Engineers on operations.
Replacing the existing fleet, the new vehicles have been supplied through two separate procurement routes. The first of these, for 182 6×6 vehicles, was through the C Vehicle PFI contract run by ALC as prime contractor. Vehicles were supplied in five variants, with three – the Medium Dump Truck, Self-Loading Dump Truck and Truck-Mounted Loader – being managed by Iveco. Two other variants – a Drill Rig and a Flush Capping System – were procured under ALC’s direct control.
The second procurement resulted from the success of this 6×6 fleet in service. The requirement was for a fleet of Protected Self-Loading Dump Trucks for service on operations.
As Iveco had already developed a ballistic steel cab for the Trakker family, the 8×8 Trakker was a natural choice for this demanding role. The procurement was a direct purchase by the UK MoD, with Iveco managing the complete integration activity. This required input from five separate sub-contractors – GD (UK), Terex Atlas, Thompson Engineering, BI Engineering and KraussMaffei Wegmann.
A total fleet of 24 Self-Loading Dump Trucks (Protected) are now in service, with the majority of the fleet on operations, where they have been extremely well received. The protection provided by the steel cab, bar armour and other countermeasures has been particularly welcome.
This completes a series of successes in the field of logistics vehicles by Iveco in recent years, including significant contract wins in France, Switzerland, Germany and Spain. The company is currently bidding to supply Trakker to the Norwegian and Swedish Armed Forces to re-equip their logistics vehicle fleets. The Trakker chassis has also been the prime mover of choice for a series of other programmes, including, most recently, the supply of FAUN truck-mounted trackway systems to Turkey.
Trakker was originally designed for heavy commercial applications, such as quarry work, but its reliability, flexibility and durability has made it particularly suitable for adaptation to defence applications. It is complimented by the Iveco Defence Vehicles High Mobility Range of 4×4, 6×6 and 8×8 specialist military vehicles.
These programmes show how Iveco’s strategy of forming industrial partnerships has allowed the development and delivery of vehicles to support military operations with highly reliable and tailor-made solutions at a competitive price and against tight time constraints.
Iveco Iveco, a Fiat Industrial company, designs, manufactures, and markets a broad range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, off-road trucks, city and intercity buses and coaches as well as special vehicles for applications such as fire fighting, off-road missions, defence and civil protection.
Iveco employs almost 25,000 people and runs in 11 Countries in the world using excellent technologies. Besides Europe, the company operates in China, Russia, Australia and Latin America. Around 5,000 sales and service outlets in over 160 Countries guarantee technical support wherever in the world an Iveco vehicle is at work.
Iveco Defence Vehicles Iveco DV is dedicated to delivering innovative automotive and protection solutions to meet the needs of military customers worldwide. The company manufactures specialist military logistics, protected and armoured vehicles in its facility in Bolzano in Northern Italy, as well as marketing Iveco’s full commercial range, adapted as necessary to meet the demands of the military user. In consequence, Iveco DV has a full range of vehicles to meet almost any defence application.
