Foden Trucks

Foden logo

Foden Trucks was a British truck and bus manufacturing company which has its origins in Sandbach, Cheshire in 1856. PACCAR acquired the company in 1980, and ceased to use the marque name in 2006.

History

1930 Foden steam lorry

1959 Foden S20 dropside

Foden S21 tractor unit – DAX6/32 6x2 Twin Steer Tractive Unit, JDN 672E

1967 Foden S36 flatbed

In 1856 Edwin Foden became apprenticed to the agricultural equipment manufacturing company of Plant & Hancock. He left the company for an apprenticeship at Crewe Railway Works but returned to Plant & Hancock at the age of 19. Shortly afterwards he became a partner in the company. On the retirement of George Hancock in 1887 the company was renamed Edwin Foden Sons & Co. Ltd. The company produced massive industrial engines, as well as small stationary steam engines and, from 1880, agricultural traction engines.

Experimental steam lorries were first produced shortly after the turn of the 20th century. In 1878, the legislation affecting agricultural use was eased and as a result, Foden produced a successful range of agricultural traction engines. The perfecting of the compound traction engine in 1887 gave a significant marketing advantage and later proved invaluable to the development of the steam lorry.

1896 saw the restrictions affecting road transport ease, which permitted vehicles under 3 tons to travel at up to 12 mph (19 km/h) without a red flag. The time was right and Foden produced a series of four prototype wagons. The experience gained from this, enabled Foden to build a 3 ton wagon for the 1901 War Office self-propelled lorry trial.

This design was consistently faster and more economical over the arduous road trials but was placed second overall as it was claimed that the Thornycroft entry had better off-road performance. Foden's wagon was nevertheless regarded by most commentators as a clear winner (the result was questioned in Parliament). This model was the basis for a highly successful line of vehicles which were produced over the next 30 years. The great majority of Foden steam lorries were overtype, but undertypes were also produced, including the unsuccessful E-type and the O-type "Speed-6" and "Speed-12", which was a much more modern vehicle.

By 1930 Edwin's son, Edwin Richard, (known to everyone as simply E.R.) could see the future lay in diesel power. In late 1932 he resigned from the Board of Directors, following several years of bitter wranglings, and subsequently retired; he was 62 and ready for retirement, having spent his entire working life at Foden's. His son Dennis couldn't afford to resign, but wasn't prepared to let things ride; however, with financial input from across the immediate family a new company was set up to design and produce diesel lorries. George Faulkener, related to Dennis by marriage, became Works Manager and Ernest Sherratt, both ex-Foden employees, helped to design a new diesel wagon. Edwin Richard Foden was persuaded to come out of retirement and head the new company which became known as ERF.

In 1932, however, Foden finally realised that the future was diesel, and changed their production almost immediately, though the production of steam vehicles continued in diminishing numbers until 1934.

Post-war initially saw the re-introduction of the old models with few improvements, though Foden entered the bus chassis market in 1946 and by 1950 they had developed a rear-engined model, predating Leyland's Atlantean model by 7 years. The completely new FE and FG lorry ranges were introduced in 1948, along with the new Foden FD6 two-stroke diesel engine, which became the standard engine for certain Foden heavy lorry models, such as the S18 FE6/15 Rigid Eight-Wheeler – the optional Gardner 6LW-engined version was the S18 FG6/15. (The S18 designation refers to the new cab that was produced for the new range.) The FD6 two-stroke engine, along with Gardner engines, was also fitted in Foden motorcoaches and buses.

1958 saw the introduction of lightweight glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) used in cab production and this led to the manufacture of the first British-built, mass-produced tilting cab in 1962. The first Foden GRP cab was the distinctively-styled S21 model. The S21 was nicknamed the 'Mickey Mouse' cab by some drivers, and later also gained the nickname 'Spaceship-Sputnik' . The more traditional metal-and-wood S20 cab, introduced in 1956, was still fitted to many Foden lorries until at least 1963. The aforementioned GRP tilt cab, introduced in 1962, was designated S24. S21 Cab production continued until 1969.

In 1964, a change in the Construction & Use Regulations favoured articulated vehicles over the older rigid designs and a new model was introduced to compete in the 32 ton market. More than 75% of heavy chassis sold in Britain in the following years were tractor units.

A massive new production facility was developed in the early 1970s on a green field site, adjacent to the Foden works. A combination of this expenditure and the economic downturn of the period saw Foden's run into financial difficulty in December 1974. It was given support by Harold Wilson's Labour government. Foden's struggled as its home market continued to be depressed. It was 1977–78 before Foden returned to reasonable profitability. Large MOD contracts to supply military vehicles helped with this recovery.

After a period in receivership in 1980 the company was acquired by the American firm PACCAR, and is now a division of that company. After the takeover of Leyland Trucks by PACCAR in 1998, independent Foden production ceased, and was replaced by models of DAF Trucks rebadged as Fodens (DAF Trucks having been acquired by PACCAR in 1996). These vehicles have had the option of either CAT, PACCAR or Cummins ISMe engines.

Brand retirement

2004 Foden Alpha 3000

In 2005, it was announced by PACCAR that Foden production was likely to cease in 2006. The reason given was that Foden production would be terminated to release manufacturing capacity at Leyland Trucks to allow for increased volume of DAF brand trucks.

The last Foden was produced in July 2006, putting an end to 150 years of Foden truck manufacturing. The final vehicle to roll off the production line at the factory in Leyland was an 8x4 rigid, which was delivered to the nearby British Commercial Vehicle Museum.

External links

• Official Foden website (a PACCAR website)
• The Foden Society
• The Foden Society - brief history of Foden
• Foden's Brass Band
• Early history – Edwin Foden and steam wagons
• Exploring The Foden Truck Plant, Sandbach