WyantTerex Trucks, a division of Volvo Construction Equipment since its acquisition from Terex last summer, is continuing down the path of offering both rigid-frame and articulated hauler off-highway trucks, according to Sam Wyant, global director sales and marketing, in an interview with Equipment World during the first day of Intermat.
“Volvo bought this company as a stand-alone business, which is the model they’ve used for several brands,” he says, including the European on-highway truck Renault and the Chinese SDLG wheel loader brands. “We have our own technology and operations teams and they’ve challenged us to do what’s best,” Wyant comments.
In the United States, the trucks are marketed under Terex Trucks America, and include five rigid-frame models, ranging for the 31.8-metric-ton TR35 up to the 91-metric ton TR100. The division’s three articulated trucks include its Tier 4 Final TA300 and TA400 models, introduced shortly after the Volvo/Terex deal was announced. The trucks continue to be manufactured in Motherwell, Scotland, and Wyant anticipates no new product introductions in the coming year.
“We’re really going after that standard, core rugged feature set, and where we’ve done well in the past,” Wyant says. “The Terex brand was such a strong one in certain markets, especially the rigid-frame trucks in emerging markets. They have the heritage of being simple yet quite reliable.”
On the artic side, the Volvo and Terex offerings have “completely different designs and components,” Wyant says. Although the Volvo artic components are vertically integrated, the Terex product uses a variety of components, including Scania engines, and Allison or ZF transmissions depending on the model. “On the Terex side, we’re highly geared, which gives us great power coming out of the pit, lends us to some of the mining subsets that we’re in as well as in quarries,” he says.
Volvo Construction Equipment executives said at the time of the deal it planned to continue to use of Terex brand name, saying, “We really want to work with distribution to keep the Terex flag flying.”
Wyant seems especially bullish on the rigid-frame models, although he contends there’s little overlap with the Terex artics and Volvo’s signature articulated haulers, where models such as the 40-ton A40 are a popular buy among U.S. users. “We’re aiming at markets such as quarry and mining, instead of the general earthmoving where the Volvo name is strong,” Wyant says. Another user is rental fleets, where initial price has a strong influence on purchasing.
Dealer acquisition continues, including the addition of Illinois Truck and Equipment in March and other pending North American deals yet to be formally inked. Terex Trucks also is actively trying to close global white spaces, signing deals in Ireland and Russia in recent months.
