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ERF was a British truck manufacturer. Established in 1933 by Dennis Foden, its factory in Sandbach, Cheshire was closed in 2002, and it was discontinued as a marque by owner MAN AG in 2007. ==History== Back in 1881 the first Foden traction engine was built in Sandbach, Cheshire. Then in 1898 Edwin Richard Foden influenced future truck design by designing the first steam wagon running on steel tyre wheels which had a very successful production run up until 1913 when vulcanised solid rubber tyre development had advanced to the stage of allowing their fitment on heavy vehicles., Edwin introduced the first pneumatic-tyred Foden steam wagon, but as steam transport appeared to be going out of favour, Edwin turned his attention to the development of a 6-8 ton chassis fitted with new Gardner LW (Light Weight) high speed oil-engine. At the beginning of the 1930s, Britain's industry was struggling to survive the worst recession in living memory and unemployment had broken through the two million barrier. At this time insurers were becoming increasingly reluctant to underwrite steam boilers. As a result, Edwin believed the future of the lorry building industry lay in Diesel engine power. Unfortunately for him though, the Foden boardroom didn't agree and he resigned along with his son Dennis. Few could have guessed though that at this time of economic strife, Edwin would make a comeback and form a company that would flourish as many others fell by the wayside. With the help of his son Dennis and two former colleagues, including Ernest Sherratt who became Chief Engineer, Edwin worked to build the very first ERF diesel lorry in 1933 and gave the very first chassis the number 63 which was Edwin's age at the time. Right from the beginning the company only bought in the best components available, like engines from Gardner, gearboxes from David Brown and axles from Kirkstall Forge, rather than making everything in house. This concept would serve ERF well throughout its existence. A new and striking cab was styled by Sandbach coachbuilder John Henry Jennings, who also provided initial factory space to assemble the new lorry. Based in Sandbach, Cheshire, the company made their own chassis and cabs, originally with engines from Gardner, but later also Cummins, Perkins, Detroit Diesel and Caterpillar Inc.. ERFs used to be marketed under the Western Star badge in some countries such as Australia. It also built a specialist fire engine chassis, with a body built on by in-house company JH Jennings, later Cheshire Fire Engineering. However, when recession came in the early 1980s and production fell from a total output of 4,000 chassis per annum, CFE was sold to management to eventually become Saxon Sanbec. ERF was never a major manufacturer; as an example their domestic sales total only reached 1083 trucks in 1981. The company was bought by Canadian truck maker Western Star in 1996. However, after PACCAR's purchase of Foden, DAF Trucks and Leyland Trucks increased competitive pressure, and Western Star was approached by Freightliner Trucks corporation, the decision was made to sell ERF. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「ERF (truck manufacturer)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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