Mack Trucks - A Fascinating History

Mack Trucks was founded in the early 1900's by JohnThe first Mack vehicle housed a 4 cylinder engine
Mack who produced the first Mack vehicle in the formunder the hood, and a 3 speed gearbox with a
of a bus, and history shows that it would not be longcone-style clutch arrangement completed the latest
before the first commercial truck hit the streets ofadvancements in technology of the day. The original
Brooklyn. The first Mack Trucks were not onlyMack bus built by John and Augustus was eventually
practical they also enlightened business owners to theconverted in to a recognizable Mack truck
enormous possibilities of expansion.configuration which was to become extremely popular
In the early days Jack Mack transformed the industryas we all know now.
standard of using obsolete car parts to buildOrders for these early model commercial trucks came
light-weight trucks, to manufacturing his own robustflooding in as more and more business owners
commercial truck parts that are now the industryappreciated the advantages they offered over
standard today.horse-drawn wagons. Mack trucks boomed and
During Johns childhood he enjoyed life on his parentsbefore long the 3 other Mack brothers were needed
property near Scranton in Pennsylvania but by the timeto assist in filling the backlog of orders, and the Mack
John turned 14 he ran away to work as a youngBrothers Company was duly formed in New York
teamster. As time went by John learned many newState.
skills centered on the workings of a steam engine, andBy 1905 they had expanded at such a rapid rate that
spent time at sea on steamships around the coast ofthey moved on to a bigger and better manufacturing
the United States and Panama Canal.plant back home in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Around 1893 Jack returned home and joined forcesThese were the halcyon days for Mack Trucks when
with his brother Augustus and they soon purchased athey were building trucks with 7 and half ton carrying
wagon manufacturing business together in thecapacity. Before long they expanding again and began
metropolis that was Brooklyn. However it was a timebuilding commercial quantities of railroad cars, buses
when America was gripped by a state of economicand fire engines.
depression and although they gained a strongBy 1911 there was no manufacturer as highly regarded
reputation as expert builders and repairers of wagons,as Mack Trucks, who had managed the almost
they struggled to keep the business alive.impossible feat of building 600 units per year. The
The economy improved slowly and the Mack brothersquality of every vehicle stood them in good stead with
struggled on in business whilst experimenting with athe buying public and orders were rolling in faster than
new type of motorized vehicle which had recentlythey could produce the vehicles. To keep up with
been introduced to Brooklyn. It was natural for Johndemand, a merger was inevitable and as history
and Augustus to progress from building wagons forshows it took place between Mack Trucks and
transporting freight, to building a motorized version,Saurer Motor Company to form the International Motor
however there were many failed attempts over 8Company.
years of trial and error.This was to prove unhealthy from a management
There first success was not a commercial truck aspoint of view and eventually John Mack and his
you might expect, but a motorized bus which went intobrothers withdrew from the company. However to this
service around Prospect Park in Brooklyn. As aday Mack Trucks are known for their reliability and
testament to the strength of construction this originalruggedness and continue to lead the way with their
bus was providing transport for 25 years and traveledworld-class reputation.
more than one million miles.