Public Services and Procurement Canada has named General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-Canada), representing the Power Team, as the preferred bidder for its Logistics Vehicle Modernization (LVM) project. The Power Team, made up of GDLS-Canada, Marshall Land Systems, Mercedes Benz, Soframe and Manac, will provide the replacement for the Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) existing fleet of logistics vehicles, which can be used to transfer resources, personnel and military assets during domestic and international operations and training exercises. With GDLS-Canada serving as prime integrator, Marshall will produce a range of interchangeable containerised mission modules capable of being mounted onto Mercedes-Benz Zetros trucks, which will provide the common vehicle chassis across all configurations. A contract is anticipated to be awarded in spring 2024, conditional on final government approvals.
“Marshall has operated in Canada for more than 17 years and views Canada as a second home. We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with government and local partners to build capability for Canada in Canada,” said Marshall CEO Kathy Jenkins.
“For Marshall, delivering LVM will build on our proud heritage of supporting NATO partners through key strategic defence projects. This decision on LVM represents a major milestone for our business, both in the UK and for our growing operations in our second home market of Canada. It is a resounding validation of our groupwide targeted investment and local partnership strategy in and beyond North America,” said Marshall Land Systems Managing Director Gary Moynehan.
Mission module production will begin this year at Marshall’s new production facility in Moncton, New Brunswick. The 82,000 sq ft (7,600 sq m) site opened its doors last October as part of Marshall’s strategic plan to broaden its global reach and availability to meet the scaling of global customer base. Before the end of the year, production will begin on the first “made in Canada” containers under the new facility’s initial European export contracts – namely the Defensiebrede Vervanging Operationele Wielvoertuigen (DVOW) and Netherlands Specialised Containers (NLSC) programmes. Containers produced under these contracts will ultimately be deployed to support Royal Netherlands Army missions around the world. On a global basis, Marshall Land Systems is also making progress in relocating its UK headquarters to a new 15,000 square metre purpose-built facility at Alconbury Weald, aiming to capitalise on global opportunities for operational and deployable infrastructure. Construction will commence in the first half of 2024, with the start of operations slated for 2025.
As Marshall Land Systems, the company are part of the privately-owned Marshall Group, headquartered in Cambridge. The company employ a global team of over 2,000 highly skilled people at locations in the UK, Northern Europe, North America and UAE. Marshall Land Systems are a leading manufacturing company dedicated to supporting humanitarian, defence and security forces wherever they are deployed. The company have a proven track record of meeting Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) in direct support of the UK’s defence forces. Marshall Land Systems have produced several thousand integrated land solutions not only for the world’s armed forces but also for non-military customers who need similar level of equipment availability and reliability. Marshall, which owns a broad portfolio of businesses in the Aerospace and Defence, Automotive, Fleet Management, Property and Education sectors boasts a rich heritage with defence dating back to 1946 providing a Land Systems service for the UK MoD and many other military and commercial organisations. Since then, the Marshall name has become synonymous with the defence industry, not least because of its long history of apprenticeships that has seen it launch the careers of over 20,000 apprentices, lots of whom remain in the business and many of whom have gone on forge amazing careers elsewhere in the industry.
