Zeus Electric Chassis Inc. (Zeus), a fully configurable class 3-8 electric work truck manufacturer, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Choctaw Defense Manufacturing to produce Zeus Electric Chassis' assembly kits and cabin/chassis at scale, the company reports.
"As we build our backlog while advancing discussions with potential customers, we need a partner that can effectively meet the demand," said Wayne Kugel, Zeus Electric Chassis CEO. "Configurable electric chassis for specialty vehicles that address multiple market segments are the future and Choctaw Defense Manufacturing provides tremendous talent, capability and scale for Zeus."
Choctaw Defense Manufacturing is a Native American defense manufacturer owned by Choctaw Global LLC, and ultimately, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the third largest federally recognized tribe in the United States. Choctaw Defense Manufacturing is centrally located in southeastern Oklahoma with facilities in McAlester and Hugo. The facilities are ISO 9001:2015 certified and encompass over 350,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
"We're extremely excited for this partnership with Zeus Electric Chassis as their engineering and product aligns with our capabilities," said Sarah Curtis, Choctaw Defense Manufacturing interim president and Choctaw Global CEO. "Choctaw Defense Manufacturing is constantly looking for ways to expand our eMobility footprint and Zeus develops a top of line product that addresses environmental and industry needs."
Choctaw Defense Manufacturing is an 8(a)-entity located within a HUBZone and is a member of the following consortiums: National Armaments Consortium (NAC), Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium (DOTC), National Advanced Mobility Consortium (NAMC) and the Defense Automotive Technologies Consortium (DATC).
This memorandum allows for additional collaboration and sharing of engineering, maintenance, management, executive and manufacturing expertise with the goal of creating an environment of production manufacturing and testing for the Zeus specialty truck configurations.