Proven assembly lines in Oshkosh, Wisconsin are prepared for full rate vehicle production
OSHKOSH, Wis. (Sept. 22, 2014) – Oshkosh Defense, an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK) company, today announced that it has successfully completed the U.S. Government’s Production Readiness Review (PRR) for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract. The PRR milestone included a review of Oshkosh’s manufacturing readiness status, quality management system and production planning capabilities to assure schedule, performance and cost requirements will be achieved in the upcoming Production phase.
“Oshkosh Defense’s Production Readiness Review demonstrated that we are ready to start JLTV production on an active and proven production line that is already building heavy, medium and protected MRAP military vehicles for our Armed Forces today,” said U.S. Army Major General (Retired), John Urias, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president of Oshkosh Defense. “Throughout the EMD phase we’ve been preparing our facilities, personnel and systems to seamlessly transition into production. In fact, we built our 22 EMD vehicles on our active assembly line in early 2013 – right alongside our MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV), Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV), Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) and other military and commercial platforms.”
As demonstrated in this and past Government contract reviews for the JLTV program, Oshkosh is ready to produce world class JLTVs on its established production line. Employing lean processes, flexible assembly lines and rigorous quality checks, Oshkosh Defense has a history of delivering tactical wheeled vehicles on schedule and with industry-leading quality. In addition, Oshkosh recently announced that it successfully completed 200,000 miles and all requirements for Reliability, Availability, Maintainability (RAM) testing for the JLTV Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract.
The Oshkosh Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle, or L-ATV, is the company’s JLTV solution. The L-ATV’s lightweight, compact design leverages 10 years of research and development, as well as field operating experience to deliver an unprecedented combination of off-road mobility, survivability, speed and reliability. It merges key design elements of highly survivable combat vehicles and off-road tactical vehicles to operate in a range of threat levels and terrains. Independent testing proves that the L-ATV delivers superior ride quality at speeds 70 percent faster than today’s top-performing tactical wheeled vehicles.
About Oshkosh Defense
Oshkosh Defense is a leading provider of tactical wheeled vehicles and life cycle sustainment services. For more than 90 years, Oshkosh has been mobilizing military and security forces around the globe by offering a full portfolio of heavy, medium, light and highly protected military vehicles to support our customers’ missions. In addition, Oshkosh offers advanced technologies and vehicle components such as TAK-4® independent suspension systems, TerraMax® unmanned ground vehicle solutions, Command Zone™ integrated control and diagnostics system, and ProPulse® diesel electric and on-board vehicle power solutions, to provide our customers with a technical edge as they fulfill their missions. Every Oshkosh vehicle is backed by a team of defense industry experts and complete range of sustainment and training services to optimize fleet readiness and performance. Oshkosh Defense, LLC is an Oshkosh Corporation company [NYSE: OSK].
To learn more about Oshkosh Defense, please visit us atoshkoshdefense.com.
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®, Jerr-Dan®, Frontline™, 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, please visitwww.oshkoshcorporation.com.
®, TM 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 cyclical nature of the Company’s access equipment, commercial and fire & emergency markets, which are particularly impacted by the pace of U.S. and European economic recoveries; the strength of emerging market growth and projected adoption rate of work at height machinery; the expected level and timing of DoD and international defense customer procurement of products and services and funding thereof; risks related to reductions in government expenditures in light of U.S. defense budget pressures, sequestration and an uncertain DoD tactical wheeled vehicle strategy, including the Company’s ability to successfully manage the cost reductions required as a result of lower customer orders in the defense segment; the Company’s ability to win a U.S. Joint Light Tactical Vehicle production contract award; the Company’s ability to increase prices to raise margins or offset higher input costs; increasing commodity and other raw material costs, particularly in a sustained economic recovery; risks related to facilities consolidation and alignment, including the amounts of related costs and charges and that anticipated cost savings may not be achieved; the duration of the ongoing global economic uncertainty, 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 Company or equity market expectations; 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 production or shipment delays arising from quality or production issues; risks associated with international operations and sales, including foreign currency fluctuations and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; the Company’s ability to comply with complex laws and regulations applicable to U.S. government contractors; the impact of severe weather or natural disasters that may affect the Company, its suppliers or its customers; the impact of cyber security risk and costs of defending against, mitigating and responding to a data security breach; and risks related to the Company’s ability to successfully execute on its strategic road map and meet its long-term financial goals. 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.
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