Mack Trucks, yesterday, used the occasion of the 2014 CONEXPO-CON/AGG event in Las Vegas, the international gathering place for the construction industries, to unveil a bold new brand identity.
The updated expression of the brand sends a strong message about the significant changes in the Mack Trucks organization, its products and customer support solutions, according to Stephen Roy, the company’s president of North American sales and marketing.
A central element of the new brand expression is a sleeker, more modern logo which features the iconic Mack Bulldog symbol poised confidently above the Mack word mark, shining a light on elements that have always been core to the brand and present on the product, he said. At the same time, the new mark is an expression of Mack’s present-day, forward-thinking approach to the heavy duty truck industry and customer
Mack officials noted that Mack’s purpose from day one has been to design products and services that enable and strengthen the essential bond between man and machine – to understand customers’ needs and equip them to overcome the challenges they face on a daily basis. That purpose was evident even before the tenacious performance of the Mack AC model in the trenches of World War I led British soldiers to give Mack its bulldog nickname.
It is a purpose that remains very much alive today, emphasized Roy. A new tagline, “Born Ready,” also unveiled at CONEXPO-CON/AGG, at once recognizes Mack’s long-standing role as a brand that can be counted on when things matter most, and celebrates that same character trait in the people Mack admires and does business with every day.
“We’re extremely proud of our 114-year legacy as the American truck you can count on,” said Roy. “It gives us credibility in forging a very bright future for Mack, our dealers and our customers.
“We believe the refresh of our brand embodies what we’ve stood for in the past and continue to stand for today. We’re confident and passionate about our trucks and our customers. We have a great history, great momentum and the conviction that our best days are ahead of us.
“The brand work we’re rolling out here in Las Vegas clearly communicates the strong position Mack holds today.”
Investments
Since 2010, $64 million has been invested in the Hagerstown, Md., plant that produces all Mack engines and transmissions. Nearly $20 million has been invested over the same period in the Macungie, Pa., plant where all Mack trucks for North America and export are built.
In 2012, $10 million was dedicated to the expansion of the technical center in Greensboro, N.C., the site of Mack product design, development and testing.
Millions of dollars have also been put into R&D, resulting in “game-changing” new products and services like the Mack mDRIVE automated manual transmission, Mack mRIDE spring suspension and Mack GuardDog Connect, an integrated connected vehicle solution that proactively increases uptime.
Mack dealers have also been investing, with more than $300 million dedicated to new facilities, additional service bays, more service and parts employees, expanded hours of service and more Master Technicians since 2010.
“We’ve got a very solid foundation,” said John Walsh, Mack vice president of marketing. “It’s time we told our story in a way that captures both the essence of the brand – what has always made Mack great – as well as all of the exciting things happening with Mack today.
“That’s really what the new work we’re debuting today is all about.”
