Mack Industries history

The Mack E series, introduced in 1936, were streamlined, medium-duty trucks with gross vehicle weight ratings ranging up to 23,000 lbs.

Perhaps its most significant achievement was the introduction of its own diesel engine in the summer of 1938.

In one of their most impressive moves, two Mack trucks hauled the body of a DC-3 transport aircraft from Houston to Dallas in May 1943.

In part because of this initiative, gross sales of Mack trucks soared to a quarter of a billion dollars in 1956, with a net profit of more than $12 million.

In 1959, net profits again reached a new high of $15.8 million.

In 1965, after decades of continued growth, Mack announced that its corporate headquarters would move to Allentown in order to be closer to the main assembly plant.

In 1979 the company entered into an agreement with French manufacturer Renault.

In January 1986, after posting a net loss of nearly $65 million for the third quarter of the previous year, Mack announced that it would close its Allentown plant.

These changes eventually helped the company returned to profitability in 1994.

In 2000, as Mack celebrated its 100th anniversary, Swedish manufacturer AB Volvo acquired the company – a move that led to many major changes in the Lehigh Valley.