Mack Trucks
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Mack Trucks logo |
Mack Trucks is one of the world's leading
truck manufacturing companies. Based in the
United States, Mack has been owned by
AB Volvo since
2001.
The company's
headquarters are located in
Allentown, Pennsylvania in
Pennsylvania's
Lehigh Valley. The company also maintains a manufacturing facility in neighboring
Macungie, Pennsylvania.
Mack Trucks is a top producer in the vocational, on road, vehicle market,
Class 8 through Class 13. It is also the most popular heavy-duty
off-road truck manufacturer in America. On the front of each Mack you will find the company's distinctive logo, silver colored
Bulldog. Mack also produces
highway models.
Mack Trucks have been sold in 45 countries. The
Macungie, Pennsylvania manufacturing plant, located close to its Allentown headquarters, produces the Mack Granite, RD, RB, CL, LE, DM, and MR models, these include the construction and refuse series products. In
Dublin, Virginia, the "Vison by Mack" and CH highway models are made at the New River Valley Assembly plant.
Engines, the Maxitorque ES T300 series
transmissions, the TC-15
transfer case, and rear engine
power take-offs are designed and manufactured in
Hagerstown, Maryland.
Mack's right-hand drive vehicles are produced in
Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia for worldwide distribution. Assembly for
South America is done at Mack de Venezuela C.A., in
Caracas,
Venezuela. The Venezuela operation is a
chassis knock-down (CKD) facility. The components are shipped from the United States to Caracas and the plant then does final assembly.
Mack also has a remanufacturing center in
Middletown, Pennsylvania where it takes used parts and
refurbishes them resale/reuse.
"Built like a Mack Truck" has become part of
"Americana", slang for something
"tough".
In the early 1960s, Mack Truck's executive vice president of product and engineering, Walter May, developed the Maxidyne high torque rise engine. The engine was first available in 1968 model year trucks. This was an industry changing event. The Maxidyne allowed a heavy class 8 truck to be operated with a 5 speed (Maxitorque) transmission. Previously, heavy trucks were typically equipped with 10 or more gears.
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Mack AC delivery truck at the Petersen Automotive Museum |
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1890: John M. Mack gets a job at Fallesen & Berry, a carriage and wagon company in
Brooklyn, New York.
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1893: Mack and his brother, Augustus F. Mack, buy the company John worked for.
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1894: A third Mack brother, William C. Mack joins his brothers in the company's operations. The Macks try working with steam powered and electric motor cars.
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1900s: Inspired by
Orville and
Wilbur Wright,
Willis Carrier and
Henry Ford's inventions, John Mack has a vision, dreaming about producing heavy duty trucks and engines.
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1900: The Macks open their first bus manufacturing plant. The
Mack bus, ordered by a sightseeing company, is delivered.
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1902: The
Mack Brothers Company established in
New York.
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1904: The company introduces the name
Manhattan on its products.
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1905: Allentown selected as the home of main manufacturing operations, and headquarters. A fourth Mack brother, Joseph Mack, becomes a stockholder. Mack begins to make rail cars and locomotives.
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1909: A
junior model 1-1/2 ton truck is introduced.
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1910: The
Manhattan name changed; from now on, the trucks are known as
Mack Trucks. Mack delivers the first motorized hook and ladder firetruck used by the city of
Morristown, New Jersey. Charles Mack, a fifth Mack brother, joins the company.
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1911: The company is sold, but it keeps operating as
Mack Trucks.
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1912: Brothers John and Joseph Mack leave.
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1914: The Mack ABs are introduced.
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1916: The Mack ACs are introduced. Ultimately, over 40,000 of these models are sold.
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World War I: Mack delivers over 6,000 trucks, both to the
United States and
Britain's military. A legend surfaces that British soldiers would call for
Mack Bulldogs to be sent when facing adversity.
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1918: Mack becomes the first manufacturer to apply air cleaners and oil filters to their trucks.
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1919: The United States
Army conducts a trans-continental project using Mack Trucks to study the need for national highway systems.
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1920: Mack Trucks are the first with power brakes on their trucks.
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1922: The bulldog is accepted as the company's corporate symbol.
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1924: Jack Mack dies in a car crash in
Weatherly, Pennsylvania.
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1927: Mack's BJ and BB models built.
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1932: The Bulldog starts to
travel on the hoods of Mack trucks.
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1933:
Mack Trucks helps in the building of many American structures, including the
Hoover Dam.
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1936: The Mack E series introduced.
Mack Jr trucks introduced.
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1938: Mack trucks is the first company to produce its own heavy-duty diesel engines.
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World War II: Mack trucks were used by the military in various capacities, and the company built many heavy-duty trucks to help the allied forces win the day. From
1941 to
1945, the combined armed forces of the United States, Great Britain, France, and Canada took delivery of 35,096 total vehicles. The combat "N Series" (NB, NJU, NM, NO, NR, etc.) accounted for 26,965 of the total. Commercial type vehicles including: trucks, off-highway, fire-trucks, trailers, and buses, accounted for the rest. A total of 2,053 NO models alone were produced from 1940 to 1945. The 6x6 7-yard/2-ton NO was the most important specifically military model, and could be used as a transport or tractor for the 155mm Long Tom field gun. Mack also built over 2600 power trains for tanks. The Allentown bus plant built Vultee naval torpedo bombers. More than 700 NJU (5-to-6 ton 4x4) models were in the hands of the U.S. Army by 1942. In 1939 & 1940 the French and British received several hundred NR4 and EXBU models.
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1953: The
Mack B Model series of trucks is introduced. 127,786 produced through 1965.
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1956: City of Hamilton, Bermuda buys first diesel-power fire truck (B85F).
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1956: Mack Trucks, Inc. buys Brockway Motor Company. (Brockway ceases in 1977)
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1959: The First of the COE (cab-over-engine) family of trucks is introduced: The
G Model which had a short production due to lawsuits resulting from a striking resemblance to the Kenworth COE.
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1962: The Second of the COE (cab-over-engine) family of trucks is introduced: The
F Model all steel sleeper (FL) or non sleeper (F) is the first of this family of models for Mack. (
Kenworth came out with their COE in 1957)
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1965: Mack releases the
Super Pumper System, to be used by the
New York City fire department. It would help put out 2,200 fires.
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1966: The
R Model Series introduced, to replace the
B Model Series.
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1966: The
RL (for R-Western) model built at
Hayward, California until 1981.
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1966: Mack begins production at its assembly plant in
Oakville, Ontario,
Canada. The facility closed in
1993.
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1967:
Mack Trucks becomes a part of the
Signal Oil and Gas Company. Later that year Signal changes its name to
The Signal Companies, Inc.*
1969: Mack patents the cab air suspension.
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1970: Mack moves into its new Allentown world headquarters.
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1975: Macungie plant opens, build the
Cruise-Liner series until 1983.
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1977:
Super-Liner introduced, production runs for 15-years until 1993.
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1978: Introduction of the low-cab-forward urban
MC/
MR series.
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1979:
Renault buys 10% of Mack Trucks, Inc.
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1979: Medium-duty model
Mid-Liner introduced, built by
Renault Véhicules Industriels in France
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1982:
Renault increases ownership stake to 20%, Signal lowers its stake to 10%.
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1982: Production of the
MH Ultra-Liner model begins.
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1983: Mack Trucks does a 15.7 million share IPO of common stock.
Renault increases holdings to 40%, while Signal reduces its stake to 10.3%.
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1987: Renault reorganizes;
Renault Véhicules Industriels buys
Renault's Mack shares.
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1988: Mack introduces the
CH series for highway applications.
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1990: Mack Trucks become a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Renault Véhicules Industriels*
1994: Mack introduces the
LE (low entry) refuse vehicle.
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1999: A new premium highway tractor is introduced: the
"Vision by Mack".
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2001: Mack together with
Renault Véhicules Industriels becomes part of
Volvo AB of Sweden, the parent company
Renault S. A. receives a 20% stake in the combined company. (In 2002 Renault Véhicules Industriels changes its name to
Renault Trucks.)
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2001: Medium-duty
Freedom series introduced (built by
Renault Trucks in France like its predecessor, the Mid-Liner series).
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2001:
Granite series for construction applications introduced.
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2003: Mack pulls out of the medium-duty market and discontinues the Freedom series.
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2005: Mack stops producing the DM model, the last Mack that used the R-Model cab, the RB was also discontinued at the beginning of 2005. In some countries the DM is the most popular truck for construction use.
* MR686P aerial trucks
* MR686S 90' Bronto aerial truck
* MR690S 100 aerial truck
* MR688P pumper
* MS Midliner pumper
Mack started to produce the R and U Model in the early 1960s, for highway use, and the RD and DM Models for construction use. The 4 models featured the same cab, the U and DM had the cab offset to the left, and the early RD and DM had 3-piece steel hoods, and they later had 1-piece hoods, the RD had a new hood and the DM the U hood. In the late 1980s, the R and U Models were discontinued, the RB was introduced, mostly for severe-duty applications, and the hood was slightly modified.
2002 was the last year for the RD, and 2005 for the RB and DM, the DM being the last one to be discontinued, it was the last model to use this cab, and the last model of this family that was produced. As a replacement for the construction models, Mack started to offer the Granite, Granite Bridge-Formula and Granite Axle-back, however, they feature a centered cab, and which is not offset like the DM.
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Mack Trucks Website*
Mack's profile @ Hoovers*
BigMackTrucks.com - Antique Mack Truck Information & Forum
