White Trucks was an American truck manufacturer located in Cleveland, Ohio. The company produced some fire apparatus around 1906, but is primarily related to the fire service through its medium and heavy duty trucks used for commercial chassis fire apparatus. The company went out of business in 1980, and Volvo acquired the assets of the company in 1981. Volvo would continue to use the White name for the US market until 1995.
History[]
The company began as the White Sewing Machine Company in 1901, it primarily produced small automobiles and light commercial vans. In 1906 the company changed its name to The White Company and began to offer trucks up to 3 tons. It also offered bodies for buses, ambulances, fire apparatus, police wagons and mail trucks.
In 1916 the company changed its name to the White Motor Company. During World War 1, White would provide the US Army with 18,000 trucks. Automobile production ended during the war, and the company would focus on medium and heavy duty trucks for the rest of its existence. During World War 2 the company would again provide the US military with thousands of heavy trucks and light armored vehicles.
Between 1951 and 1960 White acquired truck makers Sterling, Autocar, REO and Diamond T. It also became the sales and service organization for Freightliner. The company became White Trucks in 1966. After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1980, US operations were purchased by Volvo and Canadian operations were purchased by Bow Valley Resources and NovaCorp, and became Western Star Trucks. From 1966 to 2001 the brand was used alongside the Autocar, Volvo and GMC brands.
| Brand | Year from | Year to | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Sewing Machine Company | 1901 | 1906 | The automotive division was spun off as its own company |
| The White Automotive Company | 1906 | 1916 | |
| White Motor Company | 1916 | 1954 | |
| White-Autocar | 1954 | 1981 | Acquired by Volvo |
| Volvo-White | 1981 | 1987 | Volvo purchased GMC's heavy truck line in 1987 |
| Volvo-White-GMC | 1987 | 2001 | Volvo purchased Mack trucks and stopped using the White and GMC brands in 2001. |
White offered a wide range of options, which made their trucks a common commercial chassis for fire apparatus from the late 1920s through the mid 1960s.
While many White trucks were used for fire apparatus two were particularly common.
- The 700 Series, introduced in 1934 and available through the mid 1950s.
- The 3000 Series cab-over, introduced in 1949 and available into the mid 1960s.
Sources[]
- Georgano, G.N. The Complete Encyclopedia of Commercial Vehicles. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 1979.