Ottawa Trucks, later renamed Kalmar Ottawa, is a United States-based company that became the largest manufacturer of terminal tractors in North America, with over 55,000 produced. Its history runs through a fire-apparatus acquisition in California, a Finnish buyer in 1993 and an electric retrofit programme launched in 2015.
Ottawa Trucks at a glance
| Maker | Ottawa Trucks, United States |
|---|---|
| Type | terminal (yard) tractors |
| Later name | Kalmar Ottawa |
| Output | over 55,000 built |
| Position | largest terminal tractor maker in North America |
| 1990 | acquired Beck Fire Apparatus, Cloverdale, California |
| 1992 | Beck division closed |
| 1993 | bought by Sisu Terminal Systems, Finland |
| 1997 | Sisu and Kalmar Industries joined Partek Corporation |
| 2015 | electric retrofit programme with Orange EV, Missouri |
Short article based on one source.
History of the Ottawa Trucks
A specialist builder
Ottawa Trucks built its name on terminal tractors — the yard trucks that shunt semi-trailers around depots and terminals. On that ground it grew into the largest manufacturer of terminal tractors in North America, with more than 55,000 vehicles produced over the life of the business. The company was later renamed Kalmar Ottawa.
The Beck years
In 1990 the Ottawa Truck Corporation acquired Beck Fire Apparatus of Cloverdale, California. The fire-apparatus business continued to operate as an independent division of Ottawa until it went out of business in 1992, two years after the takeover.
Sisu and Kalmar
In 1993 Ottawa Trucks was purchased by its main competitor, the Finnish company Sisu Terminal Systems. In 1997 Sisu and the Swedish terminal truck manufacturer Kalmar Industries were both incorporated into the Partek Corporation, and soon afterwards the Sisu badge was discontinued on terminal tractors, leaving the Ottawa name under the Kalmar roof.
Electrification
In 2015 Ottawa partnered with Orange EV, a Missouri-based manufacturer of electric terminal tractors, to retrofit its yard trucks with electric engines. The two companies decided to collaborate because of the demand for emission-free logistics, turning an existing diesel yard tractor into a battery-electric machine instead of designing a new one from scratch.
Design and features
- Terminal tractor focus: Ottawa built its reputation on yard trucks rather than road-going lorries.
- Scale: the largest manufacturer of terminal tractors in North America, with over 55,000 produced.
- Fire apparatus chapter: Beck Fire Apparatus of Cloverdale, California, ran as an independent Ottawa division from 1990 to 1992.
- Ownership chain: an American builder bought by Finnish Sisu in 1993 and folded into Partek with Kalmar in 1997.
- Electric retrofits: since 2015 Ottawa yard trucks have been converted to electric drive with Orange EV of Missouri.
Ottawa Trucks versions
- Ottawa terminal tractors: the yard trucks on which the company’s reputation rests.
- Sisu-badged tractors: machines sold under the Finnish owner’s badge until it was dropped after 1997.
- Kalmar Ottawa: the name the company has carried since the Kalmar and Partek years.
- Beck Fire Apparatus: the California fire-apparatus division, independent from 1990 until its closure in 1992.
- Orange EV retrofits: Ottawa yard trucks converted to electric power from 2015.
More vehicles from American makers are in the Oshkosh collection, and the rest of this marque is on the Ottawa page.
Sources
- Ottawa Trucks, English Wikipedia: company history, Beck Fire Apparatus, Sisu, Kalmar, Partek, Orange EV