Mack Trucks

Mack Trucks, Inc.
Type Subsidiary of AB Volvo since 2001
Industry Manufacturing
Founded 1900
Headquarters Greensboro, North Carolina
United States
Key people Dennis Slagle (CEO)[1]
Products Trucks
Production output Macungie, Pennsylvania
Employees 5,037 (2005)
Parent AB Volvo
Website www.macktrucks.com

Mack Trucks, Inc. is an American truck-manufacturing company and a former manufacturer of buses and trolley buses. A wholly owned subsidiary of Renault Véhicules Industriels since 1990, Mack Trucks is currently a subsidiary of AB Volvo. The company's headquarters are located in Greensboro, North Carolina. On September 3, 2009, a three-month transition from its headquarters in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Greensboro was completed.[2]

Contents

Operations

Currently, the company's manufacturing facilities are located at the Macungie Assembly Operations plant in Lower Macungie Township, 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 manufacturer of heavy-duty off-road trucks in America. The company's distinctive logo, a chrome-plated (sometimes gold-plated) bulldog, can be found on the front of almost all Mack trucks. A Mack truck with a gold-plated bulldog indicates that the entire truck is made of Mack components. Trucks with another manufacturer's transmission, engine, rear axles or suspension are given the chrome-plated bulldog.

Mack trucks have been sold in 45 countries. The Macungie, Pennsylvania, manufacturing plant, located close to its abandoned Allentown corporate headquarters, produces all Mack products. The Mack MP-series engine, Mack transmissions, the TC-15 transfer cases, and rear engine power take-offs are designed and manufactured in Hagerstown, Maryland, which, according to local historians, was the original factory location.

Parts for 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 complete knock down (CKD) facility. Components are shipped from the United States to Caracas, and the plant then does final assembly.

In addition to its Macungie manufacturing facility, Mack also has a remanufacturing center in Middletown, Pennsylvania, where it takes used parts and refurbishes them for resale/reuse.

2008 restructuring plan

On August 14, 2008, Mack Trucks announced a major restructuring plan that includes:[3]

History

Corporation timeline

This is a timeline of Mack Trucks history. Most of the information is taken from the Mack History page at MackTrucks.com, unless otherwise noted.[4]

Market, model and products timeline

This is a timeline of Mack Trucks history. Most of the information is taken from the Mack History page at MackTrucks.com, unless otherwise noted.[4]

Products

Current models

North America

List of current models produced for the North American market.[12][13]

Australia, New Zealand and South Africa

List of current models produced for the Australian, New Zealand, and South African market at the Wacol, Queensland factory.[14][15]

Fire apparatus products

Mack Trucks produced fire apparatuses from 1911 until 1990.[16] Despite the abrupt shutdown of their production, many have been refurbished and still serve with fire departments throughout the world.

Some examples of Mack fire apparatus:

R/RB, U, RD, DM models

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. 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 and the RB was introduced, mostly for severe-duty applications. The hood was modified slightly for the model RB.

2004 was the last year for the RD, and 2005 for the RB and DM. The DM was the last model to use this cab style, and was the last model of this family to be produced. As a replacement for the construction models, Mack started to offer the Granite, Granite Bridge-Formula and Granite Axle-back, which feature a centered cab, which is not offset like the DM.

Also this model is serving in the Mexican Army as a Troop and Utility Truck in Configuration 6X6 OR 6X4

Maxidyne engine

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 the 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.

Other products

Trademark

The company's trademark is the Bulldog. Mack trucks earned this nickname in 1917, during World War I, when the British government purchased the Mack AC model to supply its front lines with troops, food and equipment. British soldiers dubbed the truck the "Bulldog Mack", because they said it had "the tenacity of a bulldog." Its pugnacious, blunt-nosed hood, coupled with its incredible durability, reminded the soldiers of the tenacious qualities of their country's mascot, the British Bulldog.[17][18]

The logo was first used in 1921 for the AB chain drive models and made the official corporate logo in 1922.[19]

Leadership

This is a list of the highest ranking executive officer of Mack Trucks since its inception:

Mack leader Dates of service
John M. Mack 1900 to 1905 and 1909 to October 17, 1911
Otto Mears April 29, 1905, to January 9, 1906
Jacob Sulzbach January 9, 1906, to January 8, 1907
Thomas Rush January 8, 1907, to December 8, 1908
Charles P. Coleman October 17, 1911, to June 13, 1913
John Calder June to October 1913
Vernon Munroe October 22, 1913, to May 23, 1917
Alfred J. Brosseau May 15, 1917, to September 24, 1936
Emil C. Fink January 28, 1937, to January 1, 1943
Charles T. Ruhf August 5, 1943, to June 6, 1949
Edwin D. Bransome June 6, 1949, to January 11, 1955
Peter O. Peterson January 11, 1955, to December 31, 1958
Christian A. Johnson 1958 to 1962 (acting President)
Nicholas Dykstra July 20, 1961, to September 1, 1962
C. Rhoades McBride September 7, 1962, to January 6, 1965
Zenon C.R. Hansen January 7, 1965, to January 28, 1972
Henry J. Nave January 28, 1972, to January 1, 1976
Alfred W. Pelletier January 1, 1976, to July 21, 1980
John B. Curcio July 21, 1980, to 1989
Ralph Reins 1989 to 1990
Elios Pascual 1990 to 1995
Pierre Jocou March 1, 1995, to November 29, 1996
Michel Gigou December 1, 1996, to July 1, 2001
Paul Vikner July 1, 2001, to April 1, 2008
Dennis Slagle April 1, 2008 to present

Notable appearances in media

A Mack M915 (LHRT) Line-Haul Replacement Tractor (Military version of the Mack Granite GU713 10-wheeler) with a (Military version M970 Fuel Tanker) Semi-Trailer, will be the vehicle mode for Megatron in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

A 1984 Mack Superliner, owned by J.R. Collins Pulling Team, is also officially sponsored by Mack. The truck (named "Buckeye Bulldog") runs in the NTPA (National Tractor Pulling Association) in the "Super Semi" class.

Dale Gribble, a character from King of the Hill, is rarely seen without his Mack cap.

See also

References

  1. ^ Press Release: "Slagle Named Mack President & CEO". - Mack Trucks. - January 15, 2008
  2. ^ Barron, Richard M. (September 4, 2009). "Mack Moves South: Bulldog in Tow". http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/09/03/article/mack_moves_south_bulldog_in_tow. Retrieved 2009-09-04. 
  3. ^ a b News/Events: Mack Plans Restructuring to Increase Competitiveness, Secure Long-Term Leadership Position. - News Releases 2008. - Mack Trucks. - August 14, 2008. - Retrieved: 2008-08-15
  4. ^ a b Mack History - Mack Trucks.com Official Website
  5. ^ "Motor Truck Merger". - New York Times. - September 23, 1911. - p.15. - Retrieved: 2008-06-16
  6. ^ "Railroads Cut Off Short Branch Lines". - New York Times. - January 15, 1922. - p.102
  7. ^ a b Sebree, Mac; and Ward, Paul (1973). Transit’s Stepchild: The Trolley Coach, pp. 156–161. Los Angeles: Interurbans. LCCN 73-84356.
  8. ^ "AB Volvo - press release". Cision Wire. http://www.cisionwire.com/volvo/volvo-engines-certified-to-new-us-environmental-standard. Retrieved 2006-11-15. 
  9. ^ "Mack to Launch its Biggest Model -- TITAN": Bulldog. - 2008-Volume 1. - p.9. - (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document). - Retrieved: 2008-06-02
  10. ^ Product Brochure: Titan. - Mack Trucks. - (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document). - Retrieved: 2008-06-02
  11. ^ "Mack unveils natural gas-powered truck". News & Record. 2010-10-26. http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/10/26/article/mack_unveils_natural_gas_powered_tru. Retrieved 2010-10-27. 
  12. ^ Mack Bulldog Line. - Mack Trucks. - (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document). - Retrieved: 2008-06-08
  13. ^ Products. - Mack Trucks. - Retrieved: 2008-06-08
  14. ^ New Breed Range. - Mack Trucks Australia. - Retrieved: 2008-06-08
  15. ^ Hill, Liezel. - "Volvo, Mack team up for SA market". - Engineering News. - July 27, 2005. - Retrieved: 2008-06-08
  16. ^ "Cape Cod Fire Department:Mack Fire Apparatus". http://capecodfd.com/PAGES%20Special/Macks1.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-04. 
  17. ^ History: 1910-1919. - Mack Trucks. - Retrieved: 2008-06-08
  18. ^ "Mack Trucks, Inc. Company Overview". - Volvo Group. - (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document). - Retrieved: 2006-10-31
  19. ^ History: 1920-1929. - Mack Trucks. - Retrieved: 2008-06-08
  20. ^ "FREIGHT HANDLING.". The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954) (Perth, WA: National Library of Australia): p. 4. 30 July 1925. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31871575. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 

External links