 A Hayes WHDX 70-170 ballast tractor 6x6 truck operating in Spain in 2010. | |
| Formerly | Hayes-Anderson Motor Company Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public (1920-1974) Subsidiary (1975) |
| Industry | Truck manufacturing |
| Founded | 1920; 104 years ago (1920) in Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Founder |
|
| Defunct | 1975 (1975) |
| Fate | Dissolved by Paccar |
| Headquarters | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Parent | Paccar |
The Hayes Manufacturing Company Limited was a Vancouver-based Canadian manufacturer of heavy trucks. Founded in 1920, Hayes built both highway and off-road trucks, particularly for the logging industry. Hayes also manufactured buses. The Signal Company acquired a controlling stake in the company in 1969, and in 1971 renamed it Hayes Trucks. In 1975, Signal sold the company to Paccar, which closed the Hayes plants.
History
The Hayes Manufacturing Company was established in Vancouver in 1920 by Douglas Hayes, an owner of a parts dealer, and entrepreneur W. E. Anderson from Quadra Island, as Hayes-Anderson Motor Company Ltd. The company sold truck parts for the first two years, then built their own trucks. The company was renamed Hayes Manufacturing Company Ltd. after Anderson left the company in 1928. Despite Anderson leaving the company, the trucks kept the Hayes-Anderson badging until 1934. In 1935, Hayes added diesel engines to their trucks; the first logging truck manufacturing company to do so. Throughout the late 1930s, Hayes was a distributor of British-made Leyland trucks, and the Leyland trucks supplemented Hayes' range of trucks. The company also used Leyland's components for the trucks.
Three employees – Vic Barclay, Mac Billingsley and Claude Thick – left Hayes to start Pacific Trucks in 1947. Hayes merged with Lawrence Manufacturing in 1949. In 1952, the company started manufacturing the HDX, which was the most successful truck manufactured by Hayes. The Signal Company, the parent firm of Mack Trucks, acquired a two-thirds share in Hayes Manufacturing in 1969, and Hayes began a mass expansion. The company was renamed Hayes Trucks in 1971. The company at its peak had 600 employees and three plants. In 1975, Signal sold the company to Gearmatic Co., a subsidiary of Paccar, which closed the Hayes plants and stopped production.
Products
Along with trucks, Hayes manufactured buses, moving vans, tractors and trailers. The company's few bus models included the Hayes Teardrop, a streamlined bus introduced in 1936. Several Teardrop buses were purchased by Pacific Stage Lines, one of which has been preserved by the Transit Museum Society.
See also
References
- ^ Carroll & Davies 2005, p. 393.
- ^ Holtzman 1995, p. 46
- ^ Francis 2012, p. 81.
- The Financial Post Survey of Industrials 1973, p. 159.
- Kelly & Francis 1990, pp. 119–121.
- Transit Museum Society 2024.
Works cited
- Carroll, John; Davies, Peter (July 8, 2005). The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Tractors & Trucks (1st ed.). London, United Kingdom: Lorenz Books. ISBN 978-0-7548-1524-2.
- Francis, Daniel (September 1, 2012). Trucking in British Columbia: An Illustrated History. Madeira Park, British Columbia, Canada: Harbour Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55017-561-5.
- Holtzman, Stan (1995). American Semi Trucks. Osceola, Wisconsin: Motor Books International. p. 46. ISBN 978-1610605731.
- The Financial Post Survey of Industrials, Vol. 47. Maclean-Hunter. 1973. ISBN 978-0888961068.
- Kelly, Brian; Francis, Daniel (1990). Transit in British Columbia: The First Hundred Years. Madeira Park, British Columbia, Canada: Harbour Publishing. ISBN 1-55017-021-X.
- "1937 Hayes PCT-32 "Teardrop" – Pacific Stage Lines #63". Transit Museum Society. June 6, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
External links
Categories:- Defunct truck manufacturers
- Defunct bus manufacturers
- Manufacturing companies based in Vancouver
- Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1920
- Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1975
- 1920 establishments in British Columbia
- 1975 disestablishments in British Columbia
- Bus manufacturers of Canada
- Truck manufacturers of Canada
- Canadian companies disestablished in 1975
- Canadian companies established in 1920
- Heavy haulage