ERF (truck manufacturer)
Parent MAN | | |
Website | www.erf.com |
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ERF was a British truck manufacturer established in 1933 by Edwin Richard Foden, from whose initials the company was named. Its factory in
History
In 1881, the first
In the early 1930s, with the economy in a major recession, insurers were increasingly reluctant to underwrite steam boilers. As a result, Edwin believed the future of the lorry-building industry lay in diesel engine power; the Foden boardroom did not agree, and consequently he resigned, along with his son Dennis. With the help of Dennis and two former colleagues, including Ernest Sherratt, who became chief engineer, Edwin built the first ERF diesel lorry in 1933, and gave the first chassis the number 63, which was his age. From the beginning, the company bought components only from other suppliers rather than manufacture them itself, including engines from Gardner, gearboxes from
A new cab was styled by Sandbach coachbuilder John Henry Jennings, who also provided factory space to assemble the new lorry. Based in Sandbach, the company made its own
ERFs were marketed under the
ERF was never a major manufacturer; as an example, its domestic sales total reached only 1,083 trucks in 1981.[3] The company was bought by Canadian truck maker Western Star in June 1996.[4] In 1999, Marshall SPV sold the Bedford parts operation to ERF, since Western Star, their parent company would be able to produce and distribute parts better due to their worldwide network, although the Bedford name was kept by Marshall.[5] However, after Paccar's purchase of Foden, DAF Trucks and Leyland Trucks competitive pressure increased, and after Western Star was approached by Freightliner Trucks, the decision was made to sell ERF.
Purchase by MAN
In 2000, ERF became part of MAN, with production moving to a new factory in Middlewich.[6] Fraud was later discovered to have occurred at ERF, and its financial position had been incorrectly stated, with MAN winning a legal case against Freightliner.[7][8] Freightliner, in turn, tried to sue Western Star and ERF's former auditors Ernst & Young, but failed on the grounds of corporate negligence.[9]
Final model range
ERF's final model range consisted of the ECT, ECM, and ECL built on MAN's production line in
In the light of Cummins' intransigence on upgrading the ISMe engine to comply with the
References
- ^ a b History ERF Historic Vehicles
- ^ Truck Reflections: Back to Before Fully Loaded 15 January 2018
- ^ Kennett, Pat, ed. (May 1982). "Truckchat". TRUCK. London, UK: FF Publishing Ltd: 8.
- ^ a b How ERF made its marque Commercial Motor 24 January 2008
- ^ "ERF buys Marshall's cab". Commercial Motor. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- ^ MAN snaps up ERF Commercial Motor 3 February 2000
- ^ MAN suspends ERF management The Daily Telegraph 17 December 2001
- ^ MAN beats Freightliner in High Court Commercial Motor 3 November 2005
- ^ E&Y heads off £350m Freightliner claim Accountancy Age 11 September 2007
- ^ ERF ends tractor building in UK Commercial Motor 7 March 2002
- ^ Big Lorry Blog : Friday, 2 December 2005 - Posts Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ MAN ends ERF production Commercial Motor 26 July 2007
Further reading
- Dai Davies, ERF: The Inside Story, 2009, 160p. 300 col. & b/w ill. h/b.
- Peter Foden, 60 Years On: The Story of ERF, A British Commercial Vehicle Manufacturer, 1995, ISBN 978-0952213604, 96 pages