­Morgan Olson LLC, owned by J.B. Poindexter & Co., Inc., responded on March 6 to a Request for Information and Prequalification (RFI) from the United States Postal Service (USPS) for its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) Acquisition Program.

On April 14, 2015 the USPS informed Morgan Olson that its proposal has advanced the company to the next phase of the NGDV program. Morgan Olson is one of the 15 prequalified suppliers being considered for the NGDV acquisition program.

The USPS anticipates making a single award in 2017 to a supplier for up to 180,000 NGDVs to replace its current fleet of mail delivery vehicles. Delivery is expected to begin no later than January 2018. With an anticipated price of $25,000 to $35,000 per vehicle, the value of the contract could potentially be in excess of $6 billion.

In 1987, Grumman Olson (now Morgan Olson ) designed and developed the now famous USPS Long Life Vehicle (LLV). The LLV earned Grumman the largest non-military vehicle contract in U.S. history. Grumman Allied, the parent company to Grumman Olson, was contracted by the USPS to produce a $1.2 billion prime order for 99,180 LLVs. The final USPS order exceeded 142,000 delivery vehicles and the majority of these LLVs are still on the road delivering mail today. Morgan Olson has provided continued support to the USPS with service and parts support to keep the aging fleet on the road well past the 20-year planned life of the LLV.

The LLV was a very successful vehicle design by Grumman Olson. Combining a modified GM S-10 chassis while incorporating a special purpose all-aluminum body, the LVV was designed to withstand extreme durability testing requirements.