Get FinancingMack’s Early History: 1890 Through 1960
A company’s history tends to be pretty interesting if you can trace it back as far as the 1800s. That’s doubly true in the trucking industry, because it means that a business has been around in one way or another since the invention of the automobile. The roots of Mack Trucks go back to 1890, to be exact, when John M. Mack went to work for the Fallesen & Berry carriage and wagon company. Three years later, John’s brother Augustus entered the picture and the two brothers bought the company.
One year after that, William C. Mack, another brother, moved to New York from Pennsylvania, leaving his own wagon manufacturing business behind to join John and Augustus. At that time, the brothers focused specifically on building wagons, but also started tinkering around with motorized cars powered by steam and electricity. The rest, as they say, is history.
1900s
Prior to the dawn of the 20th century, John Mack was hard at work designing his own motorized wagons, but it took him opening a bus manufacturing plant in 1900 to really kick things off. That led to the first Mack bus, a 40-horsepower vehicle with capacity for up to 20 passengers. Around the same time, John, Augustus, and William established the Mack Brothers Company and their “Manhattan” brand of motorized vehicles.
The first Mack bus was eventually converted into a truck, which set the company on a new path. Mack built its first cabover truck in 1905 and followed that up with the one-and-a-half-ton Junior in 1909. Between those releases, the company primarily built rail cars, locomotives, and wagons, and did repairs.
1910s
The 1910s were big for Mack trucks; the company dropped the “Manhattan” brand name and was sold to new ownership. The newly renamed International Motor Company kept John Mack and another Mack brother named Joseph on as directors until their departure in 1912. In 1916, the company built the AC model, which was a chain-driven, rear-axle vehicle famous for its reliability. Mack went on to build 40,299 AC models over a 24-year period. During this time, Mack also played a role in extending the longevity of trucks through the use of air cleaners and oil filters, and even put a spotlight on the necessity for a national highway system via its work with the United States Army.
1920s
Mack continued its innovation streak through the 1920s, as the company started implementing power brakes, shock absorbers, and other technologies in its vehicles. It was in 1922 that the company was finally named “Mack Trucks,” working as a subsidiary of the International Motor Company. That same year, that the bulldog became the company’s symbol. In 1927, Mack released the BJ and BB models, which were focused on hauling larger loads than the AC and other models that came before. The company built more than 15,000 B-model trucks over the next 15 years and manufactured more than 2,600 trailers over roughly the same period, including many that were reversible and could be towed from either end.
1930s
1936 was another big year for the company, as not only was the International Motor Company renamed to “Mack Manufacturing Corporation,” but it was also when the Mack E series was revealed. These medium-duty trucks were available as cabover models or as conventional trucks. Mack built more than 78,000 of those vehicles into the early 1950s. Always focusing on driver safety, Mack introduced four-wheel brakes to its heavy-duty vehicles. The company also started building its own heavy-duty diesel engines around this time.
1940s
The 1940s were interesting times for Mack, as they were for many manufacturers; although the company did build a few new commercial trucks (such as the LR model, LV model, and M Series), the company was largely focused on building vehicles for use in World War II from 1940 to 1945. Mack built wreckers, tank transporters, personnel carriers, and more for use by Allied forces. Mack also expanded its horizons during this period and began building its aptly named “The Mariner” boat engines, which it would continue to produce until 1953.
1950s
During the 1950s, Mack began growing its heavy-duty truck lines in earnest, and introduced the Mack L series as well as G-, H-, and B-series models. The L and B series proved to be the most popular; Mack built around 35,000 L-series units and more than 127,000 B-series trucks through 1966. It was in the late 1950s that the organization lost the “International” moniker altogether and switched completely to “Mack” branding. It was at the dawn of the next decade in 1960 that the company introduced the Mack B85F diesel-powered fire truck, which was the first of its kind.
The first 70 or so years of Mack history were eventful and packed with innovation, but the company was just getting started.