Speaking at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas, Jim Hebe, senior vice president of Navistar International, said the “bit of a pre-buy” that occurred in late 2009 before the on-highway engine 2010 regs kicked in had some interesting results.

According to Hebe, about 50 percent of the late season orders for Class 7 trucks and about 32 percent of orders for Class 8 trucks went to Navistar. In addition, the company realized 44 percent of the orders made for severe service trucks in late 2009, he says. Hebe says these orders and research the firm conducted in November show a preference for the firm’s EGR engines. Navistar is the sole company using an EGR solution for its 2010 engines; all others have gone the SCR route.

Hebe said the firm would introduce its 300-horsepower MaxxForce engine at NTEA’s Work Truck Show in March, along with its new Class 4 and 5 trucks. “It’s been the fastest product development cycle I’ve seen,” he said. “The objective is to serve stranded GM customers.”

In addition, the introduction of the MaxxForce 15-liter engine has been pulled forward, and is now scheduled for October, instead of the first quarter of 2011.

Following Navistar’s acquisition of Continental Manufacturing in December, the company announced new branding for the company: Continental Mixers. It will offer a full lineup of rear discharge mixer products under both the Continental Mixers and CBMW Mixers brands.

Other Navistar introductions at World of Concrete Navistar include:

* Heavy-duty WorkStar models (7600 and 7700) are combined into one model with two variations: 7600SBA (46-inch set-back axle) and 7600 SFA (30-inch set-forward axle). Both models will have a new 133-inch bumper to the back-of-cab.

* Dump bodies are now factory installed. The amount of factory-installed bodies will “expand greatly,” Hebe says.

* A new crew cab configuration is now available in heavy-duty diesel models with front axle ratings up to 18,000 pounds for select applications.

* Electronic stability control is now available on all PayStar models.