Kalmar Ottawa Shows Off Plant, T2
The frame makes it way down the line after the axles are attached.
Workers are given a set time for assembly at each stop, which is posted on monitors throughout the line. When time gets close to timing out, a tune is played over the loudspeaker to alert workers.
Each station has a set amount of time to complete its assembly before moving onto the next stop.
The cab of the T2 gets rolled off the loading docks and to the end of the assembly line.
Although the cabs are painted off-site, the finished vehicles are given a once-over in the paint booth to make sure there are no scratches that need to be touched up.
Editors were given the challenge to drive the T2 through a slalom course.
A lok from the cab of the T2.
With a crash course on manuvering the T2, editors were put to the task of hooking up to a trailer...
...and taking it out for a spin.
Unlike the 4x2 Terminal Tractor, the T2's frame is assembled in-house. Some recent process improvements have cut the assembly time from more than an hour to approximately 25 minutes.
A Kalmar Ottawa tech gives a last look at the nuts and bolts of the interior before signing off.
This fully restored Kalmar Ottawa 1967 terminal tractor, which is the 464th Ottawa tractor manufactured, sits proudly at the Ottawa plant.
The ride and drive event began with a close look at a pair of T2s.
Dave Wood, vice president of sales and marketing, Terminal Tractors, led the group over to another pair of T2s to give the editors a try at hooking the terminal tractors to an actual trailer.