PACCAR Inc is a multinational company primarily focused on the design and manufacturing of large commercial trucks through its subsidiaries DAF, Kenworth and Peterbilt. The company is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, in the Seattle metropolitan area, and was founded in 1971 as the successor to the Pacific Car and Foundry Company, from which it draws its name. The company traces its predecessors to the Seattle Car Manufacturing Company formed in 1905. In addition to its principal business, the company also has a parts division, a financial services segment, and manufactures and markets industrial winches. The company’s stock is a component of the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 stock market indices.
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- Official website
- Paccar Inc, Paccar Official History Page
- Business data for Paccar:
- Historical Annual Reports for Pacific Car and Foundry
- Historical Annual Reports for PACCAR
The company also designs and manufactures advanced diesel engines, provides financial services, information technology, and distributes truck parts related to its principal business.
PACCAR can trace its roots back to 1905 when William Pigott, Sr. founded Seattle Car Mfg. Co. to produce railway and logging equipment at its plant in West Seattle.
Seattle Car Mfg. Co. later merged with Twohy Brothers of Portland to become Pacific Car and Foundry Company.
In 1924, William Pigott sold control of the Company to American Car and Foundry Company.
In 1934, Paul Pigott, son of the founder, acquired a major interest in the Company from American Car and Foundry Company. Under his leadership, the Company introduced the Carco line of power winches for use on crawler tractors in the logging industry. This product line later became the basis for PACCAR’s Winch Division.
In 1945, the Company entered the heavy-duty truck market in 1945 with its first major acquisition, Kenworth Motor Truck Company of Seattle.
In 1958, Pacific Car and Foundry expanded its heavy-duty truck capability with the purchase of Peterbilt Motors Company. That same year, the acquisition of Dart Truck Company permitted its entry into the entirely new market of mining vehicles.
In 1960, PACCAR became an international truck manufacturer. Kenworth moved into Mexico with 49 percent participation in an affiliate company, Kenworth Mexicana S.A. de C.V., and in 1966 PACCAR entered the Australian truck market with the establishment of a Kenworth Truck assembly plant near Melbourne.
Also in 1960, Carco Acceptance Corporation, currently PACCAR Financial Corp., was launched to facilitate domestic sales of trucks.
Believing “Pacific Car and Foundry Company” no longer accurately reflected the Company’s products and activities, directors and shareholders voted to adopt PACCAR Inc as its new name in 1972.
In 1973, two major divisions of PACCAR were founded. PACCAR International Inc. was formed to consolidate the sales and service of company products abroad, and PACCAR Parts Division was established in Renton to supply aftermarket parts sales.
In 1980, PACCAR Leasing Corporation was formed to offer full-service leasing and rental programs through PACCAR’s dealer network.
In 1981, the Company became a European truck manufacturer with the acquisition of Foden Trucks in Sandbach, U.K.
In 1996, the Company acquired DAF Trucks N.V., a Netherlands-based truck company with production facilities in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and Westerlo, Belgium.
In 1998, the Company acquired Leyland Trucks, a manufacturer of DAF trucks in Lancashire, England.
With more than 26 000 employees, PACCAR Inc. is considered one of the largest manufacturers of medium and heavy-duty trucks in the world. According to Forbes, it is considered one of the top 2000 largest public companies in the world.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and www.paccar.com.
**Video published on YouTube by “PACCAR ITD“.
