Transportation Exchange presented by Rush Truck Centres of Canada

The Shift to Electric with Kalmar Ottawa

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In this episode, we’re joined by Eric Streich, EV Specialist from Kalmar Ottawa to explore how they are continuing their legacy of innovation with the third-generation T2 EV electric terminal tractor. Eric shares how an electric yard spotter will reduce emissions, lower operating costs, and improve driver satisfaction with a quieter, familiar cab. Tune in now. 

SPEAKER_00:

Hello, welcome to another episode of the Transportation Exchange Podcast, presented by Russian Truck Center Canada. I'm your host, Jason Cuddy. And on today's episode, we have Eric Strike, who's the manager of zero emission vehicle sales for terminal tractors with Calmar Auto. Eric, welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate the invite.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so we're happy to have you on. Um, mainly because it's exciting news that we we have an electric terminal tractor now to speak about and kind of go into a little bit more detail. That's you know starting to hit the market. So uh but before we dive in, maybe just give us a quick kind of overview of Calmar Ottawa's you know footprint in the industry. It's a very long and storied history.

SPEAKER_01:

Perfect. Perfect. Well, uh, contrary to what some people think when they see the Ottawa logo on my shirt, the tractors are not manufactured in Ottawa, Kansas. So I apologize for that. Or Ottawa, Canada. Uh it is Ottawa, Kansas. And we're about an hour and a half southwest of Kansas City, Missouri, and we're in where we are in the state of Kansas. We began the terminal tractor business uh segment. We invented the product and that started back in 1958. So Ottawa, Ottawa yard spotters have been built in the same location, uh, right there in Ottawa, Kansas since 1958. Uh, we're approaching 95,000 uh yard tractors uh life to date that we have manufactured. So if you were to take all the other individuals, uh the competition and combine them, they still do not equal to what we have manufactured and produced. So we're 100% uh uh built in the US and built right here in North America. So yeah.

unknown:

Nice.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it's a long history because it's the benchmark that everyone kind of strives to be. So I know we're we're happy to support it. And it's that's usually the feedback we get up from the customers too. You know, there are definitely lots of players, but being sort of original, um, you know, the the the strength of that product it kind of you know overrides the industry for sure.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. And I can't tell you how many times we go out and we go out and make cold calls and we ask customer, hey, do you have a yard tractor? Oh, I think we have an Ottawa out there. Then it turns out it's a capacity or somebody else's. We're kind of like the Kleenex, you know. Yeah, exactly. We're we are we are name recognition, so it it's uh it's excellent.

SPEAKER_00:

Excellent. So everyone's you know very familiar, obviously, the T2 product line, but we're here to talk about the T2E, which is the the electric version of the terminal tractor. Maybe walk us through how we got to it, you know, hitting the market at this point.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. So Calmore Ottawa started with our first generation tractor, the Calamar Ottawa T2E, and that product came to market. Uh, we launched Start a Sale in 2018, and we we built that product for about two years. Um it was it was a good product. We learned a lot from that. The one thing that I think that you'll hear uh just about everybody say in this segment of business today, especially with new technology like this, is um they're not all failures. Uh there's lots of lessons learned. There's a lot of positive takes that you can get out of uh get from first generation, second generation product. So uh so we brought that to market and and oh, there were a lot of lessons learned from that. We then began working on our Gen 2 tractor. Uh that was a partnership with Cummins. And uh uh we were working with Cummins for just about two years. We brought a couple units to market, some prototypes. We had some prototypes in the field, but uh we got to the point where we just kind of realized that that we needed to make a change. And so about two and a half years ago now, so probably uh late 2023, uh late 2022, actually, late 2022, uh, we made the decision to go on our own. Calmar has a rich history of manufacturing electric material hand and equipment, forklifts, things of that nature. We've done it for years, and we felt that it was in our best interest to to uh step away and move on to our our Gen 3 product. And uh there were a lot of good positive lessons learned from the Gen 2. Um the thermal management system, which we did not have on our first generation tractor, which will allow these tractors to work in extreme environments, extreme cold, extreme heat. Uh, we found a great supplier with that. We didn't necessarily like the design on the Gen 2, uh, but we did like the supplier. And so the supplier who currently builds our thermal management system on our current generation tractor, we were working with uh on the Gen 2. The electric drive motor, the traction motor, uh, that product was something that that we enjoyed as well, and we had a great relationship with that supplier. So we carried that over to this next tractor. So what's really important about the the T2EV, which is our third generation tractor, is it is 100% designed by Calmar Ottawa Engineers, and we control that design. And what's important about that is that as technology changes, new battery chemistry comes online, or a a better high voltage junction box, or a better this, or a better that, because we control the design 100%, we can move on the fly and we can pivot towards a better component that makes our product better. So that's very important, number one. Uh, and number two is this tractor is still built in the home of terminal tractors, and that's Ottawa, Kansas. So we build this tractor in the same production facility right next to our diesel tractors that we're currently building today.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's a key point, right? Because it's, you know, a lot of other OEMs product lines will, you know, maybe subletter have other facilities where where different product lines are made, but knowing the rich history of the product and and the reputation it has, the fact that this goes down in the same building, I think is is a huge point that people should be aware of because it's you know, despite it being a new powertrain being electric, you know, the the core product is is still tried and true as as far as what what Calmorado is known for. Absolutely. So when you you know when we talk electric, and I I think a lot of people will always agree that you know the the yard tractors is probably one of the the the no-brainer places to have zero emissions. You know, you get rid of range anxiety, you get rid of maintenance in the yard, fuels bills. There's a lot of a lot of things that go away when you electrify you know the the yard trucks or shunt trucks. Maybe from what your end, what you're seeing from feedback requests, what are the main benefits of going electric that you're you guys are seeing out in the field right now?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, you know, you mentioned it, range anxiety. Uh range anxiety definitely exists when you're trying to electrify Class 8 over-the-road tractor. With a yard spotter, you don't have that problem. Uh, in most cases, probably close to 65-70% of all yard spotters don't even leave the yard that they operate in on a daily basis. Uh, we do actually manufacture a DOT road legal unit as well as an off-highway uh non you know, uh DOT unit. And so, so even for those folks that might need to drive that tractor from point A to point B, it's generally only about a mile, maybe a mile and a half down the road to get from one yard to another or from one facility to another. And so customers still have that flexibility and have the ability to do that with uh with the with the electric product, the T2EV. Um, but when when that yard tractor doesn't leave the yard or it stays within close proximity of that charging station, the it just makes a lot of sense to electrify this segment of business. And so customers are seeing that they are able to meet some of their sustainability goals that they may have within their company or within within their organization. And they're able to do that with uh with the Calmar Ottawa T2EV.

SPEAKER_00:

Gotcha. And then when you you know you talk about what goes into the vehicle, obviously, you know, one of the key things that's a little bit different, I think, from from other applications. And it reminds me, I've I did some time in forklifts, and I the terminology came from is you know, you're doing application surveys beforehand, right? To to map out and understand where these things are going so that it, you know, they're spec and built properly. So they, you know, they they meet the requirements of where they're going.

SPEAKER_01:

That is absolutely correct. We we ask our dealers, and our dealers are a very, very important component into our success. And we ask our dealers to go out, meet with the customer, visit their facility, watch their application, fill that customer application survey out with the customer so we understand the duty cycle, we understand how many hours a day the tractor is going to operate, how many moves per day are they going to, uh, or maybe moves per hour. What is the average weight? How much distance from point A to point B? The components that affect the range and and the uptime of an electric vehicle is the weight of the load, how heavy is that load, because the heavier the load, it's gonna require more energy to get that load not only in motion, but keep it in motion. Topography, are you dealing with a flat environment or are you dealing with a hilly environment? Uh, if it's flat, then you're not requiring as much energy out of those high voltage batteries to keep that tractor moving. And then temperature. Temperature plays a big factor as well, extreme cold, extreme heat, things of that nature. So when you fill out that application survey, it helps us not only understand what the customer's demand is, but it helps us uh spec out the right piece of equipment that's going to meet the customer's expectations. But it also helps us with the customer working with the charging manufacturer of their choice to determine the appropriate charger with the appropriate charge rate to also meet their expectations. So the the application survey uh is absolutely critical. And it's something that, quite frankly, without it, we won't even generate a quotation for our dealer.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, no, good point because I mean, obviously, the goal is to try and I look at it again back to the forklift world. You want to ideally spec this in a way that it will run a full shift kind of on a full charge, right? And like you said, working with the then the the charging uh companies, you know, if it's going to sit for the rest of the night, then maybe you don't need to do a fast charge. If they're running two, three shifts, then maybe you do. But your you know, your goal is to maximize that full shift as under one charge, ideally. And the application survey definitely gives you an a look into what they're doing so that to your point it's spec's correctly so that you know there there is no surprises on the back end.

SPEAKER_01:

Correct.

SPEAKER_00:

I guess the other neat part with Shantra compared to on-road vehicles, uh regenerate braking, I think, is is probably a larger factor um with the amount of it happening in a yard versus out on the road. That definitely probably helps you know keep keep the batteries uh charge a little bit more than on road vehicles.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. I I I just returned home from upstate New York last night uh doing a demonstration with a customer. We delivered uh a demo tractor to to um a customer there. And the operator was familiar and has been operating competitive product in the EV segment. And he got in our tractor and he was really, really pleased to see that regenerative braking. Um we're driving around the yard, we're coming to us, we're coming to slow down because there's another tractor pulling a trailer out from a spot, and the operator didn't even have to put his foot on the brake once. The tractor is doing what it's supposed to do, and and that's free energy that you are able to get back. And one of the things that's also exciting is the telemetry that we use on this equipment is called Calmar Insight. It's proprietary to our product, and the Calmar Insight uh telemetry or telematic system has a telemetry segment that we can select for total regen energy. So we can look on a daily basis or on a weekly basis, and we can see how much regenerative energy that operator or that customer was able to recapture over the course of the day. So that's again another exciting piece. Operators can or customers can challenge their operators to bring more regenerative energy back in, let the tractor do what it's supposed to do, and uh maybe incentivize them because that's free energy at the end of the day that you don't have to pay for.

SPEAKER_00:

That's a good point. I mean, that's the joy of this uh, you know, these product lines, especially as the technology grows, and you know, that's probably what you see as you look into the future of you know where this technology is going is but the the telematics piece, being able to manage it remotely, being able to get the data, obviously as the battery technology gets better and things, you know, the thing with this technology versus say any other one is it's always evolving, it's evolving fast, right? So having visibility to it to you know incentify drivers, but also just see what the what it's doing. And as new products roll out, then you can compare it versus the two and you know, kind of really see where do you need to fit in in the EV space as the technology keeps going. But but line of sight, I think, is is a huge part of it and being able to see that is great. Absolutely. So, you know, as as we look at this technology, you know, where do you see this guy? I mean, obviously to me, always the shunt trucks were you know the the place where this this should go to start with, but you know, it's everything's still evolving. We know what what's kind of on the horizon with regards to the product line come up next.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, we're we're continuing to improve our equipment. When we are doing demonstrations with customers, we give the customer um a form that they we ask that they provide their operators so we get some operator feedback. We want the positive and the negative. Because we can't build a better piece of equipment without getting both the positive and the negative feedback. And so we take that, we apply some of those lessons learned. If there's if there's new components out in the market that will make this product better, great. If there's components out there that makes the product safer, great. We will do what the customer asks. And and ultimately at the end of the day, if you listen to the customer, the customer is going to tell you exactly what they want. They're gonna let you know what their pain points are, and they're going to tell you what their expectations are. And sometimes some of it may not necessarily be all achievable. That's probably the biggest challenge that you face on EV versus internal combustion. Is with a diesel tractor, you just drive over to the uh the tanks, it takes 15 minutes to refuel it, and you can run that thing for another 22 to 26 hours. Not necessarily the case with an electric vehicle. So you've got to find efficiencies in that operation, times where you can plug it in and take advantage of opportunity charging and things of that nature. So, so um, being that we control the uh the design right down to the component level, as technology changes, we will continue to evolve.

SPEAKER_00:

Excellent. No, well said, and it's an exciting time, right? It's an exciting time to this. Um, you know, it's a new new venture as far as the product line and watching it evolve. And it's a technology that's gonna evolve, like you said, quickly, and based on customer inputs and market inputs and everything else, you know, it'll ever be ever evolving. But it's uh it's exciting to see it come to light, you know, with this way with the third generation. Uh, you know, like I said, working on the demos and application servers are there so we can be in front of customers and start getting the feedback and and and looking to get these things on the road or in the yards very shortly.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. You know, we what we like to say is this is the product you know with the technology you need.

SPEAKER_00:

Excellent, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

The the T2EV is very, very similar to its internal combustion uh cousin. The cab is identical. The two significant differences is the touch screen display that exists on the electric product versus the internal combustion, and then in some cases the boom controls. Gotcha. We did go to an electric over hydraulic boom control here about a year and a half ago now, almost two years now. Um, so that does exist on the newer diesel product. But when that operator gets into our electro tractor, and if they're currently operating a T2 diesel, it's the same. Nice. We've minimized that that learning curve. It's already a bit of a challenge. The feel, the pedal, and and the acceleration and things of that nature. If we can minimize the learning curve for the operator, you know, the better they are. So the product you know with the technology you need.

SPEAKER_00:

Excellent. No, that's uh well said, and probably the the best way to kind of end that part of it, right? Because it's it's a statement that holds true, and everyone knows the product, and it's an industry leader for a reason. So it will keep continuing on that path for sure.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

Excellent. Well, hey, thank you uh for for joining us and give us an oversight of this uh new product. So we're excited to have it out there in the field. But again, we want to thank you for taking the time to join us.

SPEAKER_01:

You bet, you bet. And the one thing I would probably say is when you have customers that are interested in the product, please reach out and let's schedule a factory visit. Let's bring the customer down to the factory, let's let them meet our team, our engineers, see where the units are produced if they've not been there before. It's a great experience, and we love to invite customers to come down. And we find at the end of the day that the customer has a much uh higher sense of comfort in making the decision to work with us when they've met us, they've seen us, they see where the trucks are produced. We always encourage that. So any opportunity you have to bring a customer down to a factory visit, please, please do so.

SPEAKER_00:

Excellent. No, well said, and definitely we'll make sure it happens. So, yeah, we want to thank Eric for joining us today. And that concludes today's episode. To join us on past episodes, check out transportation exchangepodcast.ca. Until next time, thanks for watching.