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March 29, 1999 9:00 PM, EST

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Western Star Trucks is pinning its hopes for growth on a bid to make new inroads into the owner-operator and small- to medium-fleet markets — and the company’s executives say weight reductions will be the key to success.

The latest Western Star offering in the Class 8 category, the 4964FXL, was introduced March 24 at the Mid-America Trucking Show here.

The weight of the fully powered, fully equipped vehicle with sleeper is less than 15,000 pounds, said Mark Gobessi, the company’s chief engineer, noting “it is 1,000 pounds lighter than last year.”

Western Star, based in Kelowna, British Columbia, began its search for weight reductions last year, when it introduced a new lightweight sleeper — the Star Light — featuring a “sandwich panel construction that had the additional benefits of strength and sound reduction,” he said.

The reduction was achieved “by engineering a combination of several weight-saving options,” Gobessi said.

For the full story, see the March 29 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.