Built like a Mack Truck

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ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Few truck makers have enjoyed Mack Trucks’ impact on popular culture. After all, “built like a Mack Truck” is synonymous for all things tough – inside or outside the trucking industry.

And it all began a full century ago.

This year, the truck maker now owned by France-based Renault VI celebrates its 100th anniversary.

These were the trucks that Mack built. Literally. Brothers Jack and Gus Mack founded the Mack Brothers Company in 1900.

“From a small Brooklyn wagon shop, Mack has grown to become one of the world’s most famous brands, said Mack president Michel Gigou. Its first motorized vehicle wasn’t a truck at all, but was a chain-driven, sightseeing bus that traveled the streets of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Mack’s famous bulldog mascot, meanwhile, can trace its origins to the First World War, when British soldiers nicknamed their AC models as “bulldogs” because of their blunt-nosed hood and durability.

The company moved to Allentown, Pa. in 1905, and took on the name of Mack Trucks in 1922.

As of Nov. 1, 1999, the company employs 6,158 people throughout Canada, the U.S. and Australia.

More information about Mack can be found on the Internet at www.macktrucks.com. n

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Truck News is Canada's leading trucking newspaper - news and information for trucking companies, owner/operators, truck drivers and logistics professionals working in the Canadian trucking industry.


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