Back in 1881 the first traction engine was built in Sandbach. Then in 1898 Edwin Richard Foden went on to influence truck design by designing the first steam wagon on steel tyre wheels which had a very successful run up until 1913. As a result of solid rubber tyres, Edwin introduced the first pneumatic-tyre steamer, but as steam transport appeared to be going out of favour, Edwin turned his attention to the production of a 6-8 tonne chassis fitted with the Gardner oil-engine.
At the beginning of the 1930's, 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 welded steam boilers as a result Edwin believed the future of the trucking industry lay in diesel. Unfortunately for him though, the boardroom didn't and he was forced to resign 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, Edwin was working to build the very first ERF diesel lorry. Right from the beginning the company only bought the best components available rather than making everything in house and this would serve ERF well throughout its existence. Late in 1933 'E.R.Foden & Son Diesel' made its debut at the motor show in Olympia. Due to the war the Gardner 4LW diesel engines had to be reserved for military vehicles with an AEC 7.7 litre used for civilian trucks. Despite the change the C14 and C15 - powered by a Gardner 5LW - sold well, but by the end of the war output had dipped to 237. Steel rationing was now accepted as a way of life for the foreseeable future, luckily ERF was now a well established name and gearing up for a radical new truck that would take the market by storm but the end of the 1940's brought a new blow.
The death of Edwin in 1950 at the age of 80 meant the loss of an acute business brain and a leader who had nurtured the ERF's family from the beginning. His son Dennis became Managing Director at the tender age of 30 years and the company went public in 1954. Dennis shared his father's flair for design and sensed that a radical change was needed. The Klear View, or KV cab quickly became the epitome of 1950's style, said to be futuristic and imaginative. Operators fell in love with its distinct rounded shape and the truck with its Gardner engine became a legend. Not forgetting the semi forward control Sabrina.
In 1958 a decision was taken to offer customers more choice which led to the beginning of ERF's to switch to Cummins - which led to a strong relationship that the two companies shared to the end. By the end of the 1950's, production had reached the 500 mark for the first ever time. If the 1950's were years of consolidation, the 1960's were years of technical advancement. Yet the decade began under a cloud with the death of Denis Foden. Peter Foden then only 30 years of age took over the business and set about a programme of change. The LV made its appearance in 1962 and combined a stylish appearance with luxury internal fittings. The cuts in rail lines during the 1960's really worked in ERF's favour as did the 1964 Construction and Use Regulations which permitted 32-tonne gross-weight articulated vehicles. This change in policy was one that ERF anticipated and were able to capitalise on fully. Buoyant export trade however matched growing domestic success, and although hauliers were still smarting from a 50 percent increase in road tax, ERF remained committed to technical improvement. The 1970's really did start off with a bang, record sales of £9.7 million were accompanied by the debut of the new A-Series truck. Despite its similarity to the LV, the A-Series incorporated several new innovations including a weight saving frame, power steering, longer springs and bigger dampers.
At the end of 1979 ERF were building 16 trucks a day, in the depth of the recession it was just 16 a week. The bottom had fallen out of the market and by the end of 1983, the Sandbach workforce had been trimmed from 1,400 to just over 600, with the factory on a two day week. An ambitious plan for a Wrexham assembly plant had to be abandoned and the Fire Engineering Division put up for sale. What's more, an agreement with Japanese truck maker Hino to manufacture 12 to 15 tonners at Sandbach was killed off by a change in the value of the Yen. ERF battled on though and in the autumn of 1983, it unveiled its own 16 tonner with a revised C-Series cab.
ERF also began looking beyond its traditional heavy truck home ground and also set up its own sales and marketing force. ERF rationalised its product range, the result of which was the common parts Series which would prove highly popular with hauliers. By 1986 ERF had bounced back and unveiled the E-Series tractor along with a more aerodynamic SP4 cab. Truck buyers now came flooding back and by the end of 1988 ERF had registered 3,740 trucks in the UK to win 10% of the 16 tonne market. The next big news was the signing of an agreement with an Austrian truck maker called Steyr, under which ERF would use Steyr's all-steel cab on its attractive ES6 and E8 trucks.
Stepping into the 1990's and responding to developments and trends, ERF in May 1993 introduced the EC range. This coincided with the company's diamond jubilee and used 'Driving the Future' as a theme. Again, the EC used the established SP technology with new styling, however, this was more than a revamp. After four years development and a £14 million investment, a new tractor and rigid truck range was produced. This EC range turned out to be ERF's best ever selling product.
1996 saw the take over of ERF by Western Star Trucks Holdings based in British Columbia in Canadian reportedly for £27.4 million, many were surprised of this decision. ERF also started to diversify into the municipal market with two new products, the EM central steer cab and the EU.
The year 2000 had seen many new beginnings for ERF, in the March, ERF was bought by German company MAN and in the summer of 2000 saw ERF launch not one but two new products, the ECS and ECX. For the first time ERF offered a steel cab to its customers.
ERF started construction on a new factory in ERF Way, Middlewich, Cheshire, it is believed that £28 million was invested in the new factory and state of the art production and administration facility, this would bring the company under one roof for the first time in many years. In August 2000, a celebration was held ‘Coming Home – Moving Home’ when over 200 ERF’s gathered at Sun Works to cavalcade to the new facilities.
Unfortunately in 2002, British ERF manufacturing ceased just a year before it would have celebrated its 70 anniversary.
The First Models
1933 - ERF C14 6/7 tonne truck with Gardner 4LW engine
1939 - The range had grown to include 3 + 4 axle rigid models and the twin axle tractor unit. A sister 6 wheeler was also built (3 axle). During the war some were fitted with AEC engines in place of the Gardener's.
1948 - The new range designated the Model V was introduced just after the war.
1951 - The steel cab was introduced for the export market, built by Willenhall Motor Radiator Co.
1954 - The KV range was introduced with a modern oval grill with curved split screen.
1962 - The LV range was introduced, fitted with fail safe spring brakes.
1972 - The A Series came about after a new designer set about to produce a modular design for mass production. The 34 tonne gross A series tractor unit was offered with either a 6 cylinder Cummins or a 6 or 8 cylinder Gardner engine. A 38 tonne European version was built with a Motor Panels tilting cab.
1974 - The B Series was introduced with an SP (steel / plastic) cab. It was offered with Gardner, Cummins and Rolls Royce power units. This was the first production ERF to have a tilt cab for easy access to the engine. It was available in the usual day cab configeration or an optional sleeper cab.
There was also the smaller M Series rigid with the walkthrough cab design which looked like a larger B Series but had the headlamps in the bumper as opposed to just above. This was the lighter duty vehicle, some were fitted with the Dorman V8 diesel engine although this was a rare option.
Early 1980's - Saw the launch of the C Series. It was basically a revised B Series with similar engine choices. The C Series was also known as the C40 and the CP Series (Cummins Powered). Dring production of the C Series, Gardner engines ceased production and Cummins became the main choice for operators.
No D Series was ever produced due to the popular Ford truck of the 1960' and 70's, hence why the E Series was the next generation.
The E Series was available with Cummins diesels and Rollls Royce diesels, who later became owned by Perkins Engines. It was then that the ERF logo was relocated to the upper left of the grill and a badge denoting the engine size was placed on the lower right of the grill. The models being E9, E10, E12, E14 etc meaning E series plus the number denoting the engine size. This idea stayed with the EC Series and the new style logo stayed until the very last ERF rolled out in 2007 albeit a rebadged MAN from Austria.
The EC Series was launched in 1993, it was the last true ERF design prior to being taken over by Western Star, they then sold out to MAN of Germany in 2000, this was when the EC Series production ceased and the company relocated to Middlewich in Cheshire.
ERF's final model range consisted of the ECT, ECM, ECL & ECX built on MAN's production line in Nuremburg. All of the most recent ERF trucks were based on MAN's existing products, the only difference being that the ERF model came with the option of specifying the use of either the Cummins ISMe power plant as an alternative to MAN's own D20 common rail power-plant. The Middlewich factory closed in 2002 by MAN with the production of the ECT, ECM & ECL units moving to Salzburg, Austria.
