Navistar opens testing facility in Indiana

On Monday Navistar announced the opening of its new 668-acre Proving Grounds in New Carlisle, Ind.

On Tuesday, the truck maker opened the track to visitors, showcasing all of its school buses, medium-, severe- and heavy-duty trucks on the various tracks throughout the facility.

Though Navistar took ownership of the facility in April, the company has used the tracks for years. The proving grounds was previously owned by Bosch, who would rent out the facility to businesses looking to test equipment.

When it became available, Navistar says the decision to purchase the Indiana facility was a no brainer. Less than two hours from its corporate headquarters in Lisle, Ill., Navistar says the proving grounds will allow it to consolidate a significant amount of its engineering and road tests at the new site.

“It will give us a very consistent and efficient way to test our trucks,” says Steve Nash, director, product integration and validation operations. “We have a lot of good tools are here on site that we can control to provide a very reliable product.”