When a new truck is launched, we just see the end product. What took years to develop is introduced in an instant, but there’s plenty that goes on behind the scenes. Truck OEMs and suppliers collaborate on equipment specs and options, tinkering with different types of designs and components. In the case of Western Star’s newly-announced X-Series, it wasn’t just about launching one truck–it was the start of a full lineup. Luckily, around the same time that Western Star was eyeing the new truck design, Hendrickson had it in their plans to revamp its suspension lineup.
It brought a unique opportunity for Western Star and Hendrickson to develop new products in tandem.
To learn more about how both the new lineup of trucks and suspensions were created and how fleets benefit from the OEM, supplier collaboration, I talked with Samantha Parlier, vice president of vocational market development, Daimler Trucks North America, and Gerry Remus, general manager, sales and business development, Hendrickson Truck Commercial Vehicle Systems. Watch the video above for a look behind the Western Star X-Series development curtain.
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