Mack Trucks

Mack Trucks is one of the world's leading truck-manufacturing companies. It is now a subsidiary of AB Volvo, Volvo Group. The company's headquarters are in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state. The company's primary manufacturing facility is located in neighboring Macungie, Pennsylvania. Mack Trucks is a top producer in the vocational, on-road-vehicle market, Class 8 through Class 13. It is also the most popular manufacturer of heavy-duty off-road trucks in America. On the front of each Mack you will find the company's distinctive logo, a chrome-plated (and sometimes gold-plated) bulldog. Mack also produces highway models at the Volvo/Mack production facility in Dublin Virginia - specifically the CH and Pinnacle Highway models, both day cabs and sleepers.

Mack trucks have been sold in 45 countries. The Macungie, Pennsylvania, manufacturing plant, located close to its Allentown headquarters, produces the Mack Granite, LE, and MR models, including the construction and refuse series products. In Dublin, Virginia, the Pinnacle and CH highway models are made at the New River Valley assembly plant. Engines, the Maxi torque ES T300 series transmissions, the TC-15 transfer cases, and rear engine power take-offs are designed and manufactured in Hagerstown, Maryland, which, according to local historians, was the original factory location.

Mack’s right-hand-drive vehicles are produced in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, for worldwide distribution. Assembly for South America is done at Mack de Venezuela C.A., in Caracas, Venezuela. The Venezuela operation is a chassis knock-down (CKD) facility. Components are shipped from the United States to Caracas, and the plant then does final assembly.

In addition to its Macungie manufacturing facility, Mack also has a remanufacturing center in Middletown, Pennsylvania where it takes used parts and refurbishes them for resale/reuse.

In the early 1960s, Mack Truck's executive vice president of product and engineering, Walter May, developed the Maxidyne high-torque rise engine. The engine was first available in 1968 model year trucks. This was an industry-changing event. The Maxidyne allowed a heavy Class 8 truck to be operated with a 5 speed (Maxi torque) transmission. Previously, heavy trucks were typically equipped with 10 or more gears.

The company's trademark is the Bulldog. Mack trucks earned this nickname in 1917, during World War I, when the British government purchased the Mack AC model to supply its front lines with troops, food and equipment. British soldiers dubbed the truck the "Bulldog Mack." Its pugnacious, blunt-nosed hood, coupled with its incredible durability, reminded the soldiers of the tenacious qualities of their country's mascot, the British Bulldog.