Western Star Trucks will mark three decades in Australia with the release of a Limited Edition 30th Anniversary 4900FXT truck later this year.
To be available through dealerships in limited numbers, the anniversary edition will feature a special paint scheme, badging, accessories and RM Williams owner’s pack, Western Star Trucks Australia General Manager Marketing, Don Hanson, says.
Hanson adds that 2013 will also see the launch of the new 4700 series, with which the company is aiming to capture market share in the heavy-duty vocational market, including tipper, tilt tray, tipper and mine service segments.
The 4700 – which was revealed at a media event in North America in December and will feature in upcoming editions of Australasian Transport News and Owner//Driver magazines – comes with a Cummins ISL 8.9-litre Euro 5 SCR engine, with variants from 275 to 400hp.
In addition, Hanson says Western Star will mark its 30th anniversary with a number of other initiatives, including a commemorative 2013 calendar; a new website complete with social media links such as the Western Star Trucks Australia Facebook page, an update to its popular Truckie’s Mate app, and an Australian spec’d Western Star 4900FXC road train prime mover which will be the focal point at its stand at the Mid America Trucking Show in March.
“Twenty-thirteen is an historic year for Western Star as we celebrate our 30-year anniversary of doing business in Australia,” he says.
“Western Star Trucks Australia and the dealer group are proud of the milestone and we look forward to the year ahead and the release of our new products and the roll-out of the communications program.”
Hanson says Western Star Trucks Australia has come a long way since 1983, when the company was formed and secured the distribution rights for the product in Australia from Western Star Trucks Inc, based in Kelowna, BC Canada.
The first Australian Western Star was built in March of 1983 at the current facility in the Brisbane suburb of Wacol. WSTA sold 53 Stars in that first year, and 30 years on more than 15,000 units will have been sold.
In line with this growth, the original head office and production facility at Wacol has expanded from a small office and shed to in excess of 15 acres, including a 15,000-square-metre parts distribution centre.
And from the original eight employees back in 1983, the company has grown significantly, taking on the MAN and Dennis Eagle products to form the Transpacific Commercial Vehicles Group, a division of Transpacific Industries. The Commercial Vehicles group now employs more than 270 people.
Globally, Western Star production has also been transformed, moving from Canada to a dedicated, modern production facility in Portland, Oregon.
Hanson says while advances in technology have made manufacturing faster than ever, every truck is still built in the same manner as when the company started 46 years ago: by hand.
“It’s this attention to detail and drivers’ needs that have made the Western Star truck what it is today: the ultimate in comfort, power, convenience and durability,” he says.
For more information visit www.westernstar.com.au – or to read more about the new 4700 series see the February edition of Owner//Driver, on sale February 11.
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