Morgan Olson, North America’s leading manufacturer of walk-in step vans, publicly launched its Kestrel Work Truck, a heavily upfitted Jeep Gladiator, at Utility Expo 2025 as the company expands its commercial portfolio.
The launch marks a major addition to the company’s product lineup, which includes its Route Star side load step van that was introduced in April. Both were showcased at this week’s Utility Expo 2025 in Louisville, Ky., Director of Marketing and Communications Ken Klein told Equipment Finance News during the event.
Morgan Olson first demonstrated the Kestrel at Jeep Fest, which began July 31 in Toledo, Ohio, and, between both shows, the company continues to receive customer feedback on possible uses for the vehicle, such as municipalities, fire departments and utility companies, Klein said.
“This is the type of voice of customer that we’re hearing, and all the different endless possibilities that there are for the Morgan Olson Kestrel, as far as the market applications,” he said. “We’re very excited about partnering with all of the different municipalities, but then also discovering all the different endless possibilities in which the Kestrel can be used, like first response.”
The vehicle is built on a Jeep Gladiator Sport chassis, which starts at $38,695, and has the same base features. It is also subject to Jeep’s ordering and financing procedures, Klein said. The truck also offers left- and right-hand drive configurations and flexible cargo layouts, making it adaptable for fleets across multiple industries and markets.
“You select your preferred Jeep Gladiator support package, go to the dealership, order it, and that’s when you contact Morgan Olson,” he said. “We’ll have it put all together for you.”
Morgan Olson commercial upfits
To deliver customized solutions, like Morgan Olson’s step vans, the Kestrel Work Truck is built as a customizable foundation that can be upfitted by specialized partners to meet diverse industry needs, Morgan Olson’s Klein said.
“We understand there’re endless possibilities and that there’re limitless upfitting solutions,” he said. “These types of things we’re going to take and work with you, get that vehicle to the upfitter of your choice, so when the Kestrel is delivered to you, it’s worksite ready.”
The launch reflects a commitment to innovation, customer partnerships and durability in commercial vehicle manufacturing, Klein said. Kestrel product starts in spring 2026, he said. JB Poindexter & Co., the parent company of Morgan Olson, holds a 50% share of the medium-duty truck body market and 65% of the walk-in step van segment, according to the company.
Truck upfitting demand
With increased demand for customized vehicles such as the Kestrel, there’s a need for stronger downstream collaboration between OEMs, upfitters and service partners to ensure branding, service work and final vehicle configurations align smoothly, Chris Rolsen, vice president of fleet sales at truck body and bed manufacturer Knapheide, told EFN during the expo.
“We have to always be in communication with them and understanding the process, and we’re flowing the process to where [no entity is blocking] … what they’re trying to get done,” he said. “It’s their brand on the road, and we got to make sure it works right, it looks good and all that stuff, so it’s a matter of checking those boxes with them for sure.”
Knapheide handles the deal the same way, regardless of whether it comes through a fleet management coordinator (FMC), from a dealer or directly, Rolsen said.
“It’s the financing piece of it, as well as the end customer piece of it,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s the end customer that wants us just to deal with the FMC, so we’ll do that. Or sometimes they want to be heavily involved, and the FMC is just their money, and they don’t care. So you got to make sure you’re nimble enough to handle it anyway they want to do it. “
Check out the Kestrel
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