Paccar

Overview

Paccar Inc.

type	Public
traded as	nasdaq: PCAR Nasdaq-100 component S&P 500 component
industry	Heavy equipment Automotive Engines Powertrain Truck components Financial services Information technology
area served	Worldwide
key people	Mark C. Pigott (chairman) Preston Feight (CEO)
products	Products List Paccar MX13 & MX11 Paccar PR, GR & FR Braden, Carco & Gearmatic Tandem Axle Class 6 Trucks Class 7 Trucks Class 8 Trucks
revenue	US$26.2 billion (2025)
operating income	US$2.32 billion (2025)
net income	US$2.38 billion (2025)
assets	US$44.3 billion (2025)
equity	US$19.3 billion (2025)
num employees	25,900 (2025)
divisions	Kenworth Peterbilt DAF Trucks
subsid	List Transportation * Kenworth * Peterbilt * DAF Trucks ** Tatra (19%)‡R1R‡‡R2R‡ * Leyland Trucks Financial services * Paccar Financial Corp. * PacLease Equipment * Winch Braden Carco ** Germatic Aftermarket parts * Paccar Parts Paccar Parts Europe Paccar Parts South America International sales * Paccar Global Sales Information technology * Paccar ITD Truck components * Dynacraft Research and development * Paccar Technical Center * DAF Central Lab Engine manufacturing * Paccar Engine Company International * Paccar Australia Kenworth Australia DAF Trucks Australia * Paccar New Zealand Southpac Trucks ALL RIG Parts * Paccar Mexicana Kenworth Mexicana Peterbilt Mexicana * Paccar Canada Kenworth Canada Peterbilt Canada * Paccar India * Paccar China * Paccar Brazil ** DAF Trucks Brazil
foundation	1905
location	Bellevue, Washington, United States
homepage	paccar.com
footnotes	‡R3R‡‡R4R‡‡R5R‡‡R6R‡

Paccar Inc. (stylized as PACCAR) is an American company that manufactures heavy-duty trucks. It operates subsidiaries including Kenworth, Peterbilt, and DAF Trucks. Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, PACCAR also provides financial services and industrial parts. Its stock is listed on the Nasdaq and is part of the S&P 500 index.

History

The company was founded by William Pigott Sr. as Seattle Car Manufacturing Company in 1905, with a capitalization of $10,000. Its original business was the production of railway and logging equipment. The company built a new factory in Renton in 1909 after its Duwamish facility was destroyed in fire as well as to fulfill large number of orders.[7] In 1917 it merged with a Portland firm, Twohy Brothers, which was its only competitor on the west coast at the time and company was renamed as Pacific Car and Foundry Company. The company manufactured horse or oxen-drawn logging trucks built specifically to address the dense, hilly forests in which the Northwest logging industry operated to transport massive logs. The following years the company specialized in designing air brakes, open cars, refrigerated boxcars for shipment of perishable items and the universal trailer which could be pulled by a truck.[8]

During World War II

During World War II, Pacific Car and Foundry's sales grew due to an increased demand for steel used in airplanes, airports, bridges, naval ships, highways and other equipment that helped build America's infrastructure to support the war effort. Pacific Car also sub-contracted for Boeing, building aluminum wing spars for B-17 bombers. During 1942 and 1943 the company also built M4A1 Sherman tanks for the U.S. Army. The company was able to cast almost all the parts for the tanks at its own foundry. Other notable vehicles that were built included the M25 tank transporter, known as the "Dragon Wagon," and the T28 super-heavy tank.[14] Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company was established in 1942 that built ships and other marine products for the US Navy in Port Gardner Bay in Everett. It was bought by Pacific Car and Foundry in 1944.[15]

Post-war

After World War II ended, Pacific Car was a part of the federal government's Mobilization Planning Program, which meant that it promised to devote 100 percent of its facilities to military production in the event of a national emergency. The company was a prime contractor during the Korean War for producing tanks. Pacific Car chose to subcontract many of the necessary parts, boosting smaller businesses in the state.[14][16][17] In 1945 Pacific Car purchased the Kenworth Motor Truck Corporation. Named after founding stockholders Harry Kent and Edgar Worthington, Kenworth had been producing trucks in Seattle since it was incorporated in 1923. During World War II, Kenworth produced trucks, airplane assemblies and sub-assemblies for the United States military. As the war drew to an end Kenworth shifted attention to production of commercial trucks for the postwar market. In 1956 Kenworth lost independent status and became a division directly under Pacific Car and Foundry.[18]

In 1954, Pacific Car and Foundry acquired the Dart Truck Company and Peterbilt Motors Company. [19] Dart specialized in heavy off‑highway dump trucks, while Peterbilt produced trucks and buses as a competitor to Kenworth. By 1960, Peterbilt became a division of the company.[20][21][22] Pacific Car's structural steel division made the steel used to build the 50-story Seattle-First National Bank headquarters and to build Seattle's Space Needle in 1961. The firm provided 5,668 steel panels, weighing 58,000 tons, which formed a major part of the load bearing walls for New York City's World Trade Center twin towers. The World Trade Center, like the Sea-First building, bore the building's load on the exterior walls rather than on an interior structural skeleton. The steel panels were shipped by rail from Seattle to New York City on more than 1,600 railcars. Pacific Car was the largest contractor of the 13 steel fabricators that provided steel for the World Trade Center towers.[8][23][24]

The 1970s to 1990s

In 1970 PACCAR created an overseas manufacturing facility at Bayswater, Melbourne, Australia, producing Kenworth Trucks to serve the growing developing local and Southeast Asian Markets, which still trade strongly today. The first completed locally built truck rolled off the production line in March 1971, and Australian made vehicle exports commenced in 1975. Despite a serious slowdown due to recessions during 1974, PACCAR continued to generate increasing sales throughout the 1970s. PACCAR purchased Wagner Mining Company in 1975, which built underground Mining Vehicles, International Car Company in 1975 and Foden Trucks a British truck manufacturer in 1980.[26][27] Fodens sold trucks in Europe and Africa.[28][29][30] Paccar International was formed in 1972 that promoted exports worldwide.[31]

The 1990s and beyond

Paccar Parts was created in 1992 in Renton, Washington. The building it was housed in occupied part of the company's historic Pacific Car and Foundry site. In the same year, PACCAR purchased a 21 percent stake in Wood Group ESP which added to its oil field equipment manufacturing.[49][50][51] In 1993, PACCAR acquired a line of winches from heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar. The same year it brought a new plant in Washington on line to help meet the increased demand for trucks. In 1994 the company began selling in New Zealand for the first time and entered new countries in Asia and Central and South America. The company made its Mexican joint venture VILPAC, S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary in 1995. PACCAR's Winch division was one of the world's largest manufacturer of industrial winches by 1994.[52][53]

Paccar

History

During World War II

Post-war

The 1970s to 1990s

The 1990s and beyond

Leadership

Subsidiaries

Former subsidiaries

Criticism

Sources

External links

References