The United States Marine Corps System Command has awarded Oshkosh Defense, an Oshkosh Corporation company, a five-year contract to modernize the service’s Extended Boom Forklift (EBFL) fleet. Under the contract Oshkosh will modernize 495 EBFLs and provide approximately 100 armored cabs as well as replacement parts.
“As the original equipment manufacturer of the EBFL, Oshkosh is very well suited to provide the best value, lowest risk solution to the Marine Corps as they look to enhance the useful life and capability of this expeditionary forklift fleet,” says John Bryant, Senior Vice President of Domestic Programs at Oshkosh Defense.“Because these forklifts operate right alongside the tactical wheeled vehicles that we build and support for the Marine Corps, we applied our operational insight to optimize the protection, loading functionality and sustainment of this forklift fleet – at an affordable cost.”
Oshkosh Defense has extensive experience sustaining a wide range of military vehicle fleets over their full life cycle. In fact, Oshkosh has remanufactured more than 11,000 heavy and medium tactical wheeled vehicles for the U.S. military since 1960. The Oshkosh remanufacturing and modernization process includes comprehensive vehicle inspection procedures, a proven quality management system, the same rigorous assembly processes applied to new vehicles, and the latest technology upgrades to extend the useful life of the fleet.
“With modernization programs like EBFL, we’re able to provide our customers with enhanced capabilities and better protection for our troops. The Marine Corps will receive vehicles in like-new condition with several design improvements for significantly less cost than a brand new vehicle,” Bryant adds.
The EBFL Modernization contract awarded to Oshkosh is a maximum $99 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. All work will be performed in Oshkosh, WI, and is expected to be completed by September 2019. The contract was competitively procured.