TPER Program Restores Worn, Battle-Damaged Vehicles Faster, More Economically
OSHKOSH, Wis. (Jan. 25, 2011) — Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), commemorated its refurbishment of the 2,000th U.S. Army vehicle in the Theater-Provided Equipment Refurbishment (TPER) program. Oshkosh collaborates with the U.S. military on the TPER program, which eliminates the cost of shipping vehicles to the U.S. for repairs and returns the trucks to soldiers stationed in-theater more quickly.
“Many of the heavy and line-haul trucks that come to this facility have seen almost a decade of rugged, in-theater use,” said Mike Ivy, vice president and general manager of Army Programs for Oshkosh Defense. “The TPER program allows us to significantly reduce the cost of refurbishing the Army’s vehicles, and cuts maintenance cycle time by at least 60 days compared to U.S.-based repairs – more quickly getting the trucks back out where they are needed. The 2,000th truck that we’re delivering to the Army today represents the success of this program and our combined commitment to supporting Soldiers as close to point of use as possible.”
Oshkosh executives and Army officials gathered at Oshkosh’s Defense Logistics Center in Kuwait to celebrate the milestone and pay tribute to Oshkosh employees, as well as the U.S. Army staff, who support the TPER program. An Oshkosh Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET), part of the Army’s Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV), was the 2,000th refurbished vehicle.
The TPER program restores battle-damaged and heavily worn vehicles from the Army’s FHTV and line-haul fleets to the military’s strict equipment-readiness standards so they can be returned to the field. The military departments involved in the TPER program include TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA).
The DCMA and Oshkosh’s quality-assurance offices work together to ensure vehicles are restored to full mission-capable operability. The Kuwait facility sees as many as 60-65 vehicles a month that need anywhere from 300-1,000 replacement parts. To meet these requirements, Oshkosh collaborates extensively with TACOM and DLA to maintain a multifaceted supply-chain management approach.
Oshkosh Defense provides aftermarket service and support with a full life-cycle approach. The company has led customer service projects at more than 100 locations globally, including in-theater. These efforts, along with factory-trained field service representatives (FSRs) and Web-based parts support ensure customers can access service, repair and parts distribution in every corner of the globe, at any time of day. More than 700 Oshkosh service personnel are currently deployed across the U.S. and abroad, including more than 280 FSRs in Afghanistan.
About Oshkosh Defense
Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, is an industry-leading global designer and manufacturer of tactical military trucks and armored wheeled vehicles, delivering a full product line of conventional and hybrid vehicles, advanced armor options, proprietary suspensions and vehicles with payloads that can exceed 70 tons. Oshkosh Defense provides a global service and supply network including full life-cycle support and remanufacturing, and its vehicles are recognized the world over for superior performance, reliability and protection.
About Oshkosh Corporation
Oshkosh Corporation is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialty access equipment, commercial, fire & emergency and military vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh Corporation manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of Oshkosh®, JLG®, Pierce®, McNeilus®, Medtec®, Jerr-Dan®, Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, Frontline™, SMIT™, CON-E-CO®, London® and IMT®. Oshkosh products are valued worldwide in businesses where high quality, superior performance, rugged reliability and long-term value are paramount. For more information, visit www.oshkoshcorporation.com.
®, ™ All brand names referred to in this news release are trademarks of Oshkosh Corporation or its subsidiary companies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that the Company believes to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s future financial position, business strategy, targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital expenditures, debt levels and cash flows, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “should,” “project” or “plan” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include the impact on revenues and margins of the projected decrease in M-ATV production rates; the cyclical nature of the Company’s access equipment, commercial and fire & emergency markets, especially during periods of global economic weakness and tight credit markets; the Company’s ability to produce vehicles under the FMTV contract at targeted margins; the duration of the ongoing global economic weakness, which could lead to additional impairment charges related to many of the Company’s intangible assets and/or a slower recovery in the Company’s cyclical businesses than equity market expectations; the expected level and timing of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) procurement of products and services and funding thereof; risks related to reductions in government expenditures in light of U.S. defense budget pressures and an uncertain DoD tactical wheeled vehicle strategy; the potential for the U.S. government to competitively bid the Company’s Army and Marine Corps contracts; the consequences of financial leverage associated with the JLG acquisition, which could limit the Company’s ability to pursue various opportunities; the potential for commodity and other raw material costs to rise sharply, particularly in a future economic recovery; risks related to the collectability of receivables, particularly for those businesses with exposure to construction markets; the cost of any warranty campaigns related to the Company’s products; risks related to costs and charges as a result of facilities consolidation and alignment; risks related to production delays arising from supplier quality or production issues; risks associated with international operations and sales, including foreign currency fluctuations and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; risks related to work stoppages and other labor matters; the potential for disruptions or cost overruns in the Company’s global enterprise system implementation; the potential for increased costs relating to compliance with changes in laws and regulations; and risks related to disruptions in the Company’s distribution networks. Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update information contained in this press release. Investors should be aware that the Company may not update such information until the Company’s next quarterly earnings conference call, if at all.
