About This Company

Edwin Foden was born on 5th August 1841 in the village of Smallwood near Sandbach, Cheshire. The son of a shoemaker, he was apprenticed to the agricultural engineering firm of Plant and Hancock in 1856. Ten years later through diligence and hard work he was made a partner. Although Plant and Handcock manufactured steam engines, due to the restrictive legislation of the time these were only portables. By the time Edwin Foden had assumed control of what was now Hancock and Foden he was already thinking about self-propelled steam engines and during the 1880s began anufacturing agricultural steam engines.

A new company was formed in 1887, Edwin Foden Sons & Co Ltd, and development work commenced on Edwin's idea of a superior steam wagon. This took longer than anticipated but by the 1901 war office trials a design had been produced which was to set the standard for steam wagons for the next twenty-five years. Edwin Foden died on 31st August 1911, being succeeded by his sons William and E.R.

By the late 1920s it was becoming obvious that however excellent the product, steam was giving way to the internal combustion engine. This was a difficult time for Fodens which resulted in E.R. Foden leaving to establish a rival commercial vehicle manufacturer - E.R.F. Despite all this the first Foden diesel was produced in 1931 using a Gardner 5L2 engine. This vehicle, which has covered well over a million miles, is now in the Science Museum collection at Wroughton. Production now turned almost exclusively to diesel but the company was still struggling until, in 1935, William Foden returned from Australia where he had emigrated some years earlier. His presence stimulated new confidence and he produced the DG range which was to transform the company's fortunes.

DG production continued throughout the Second World War as a military version had been developed. This was built alongside Crusader and Centaur tanks and 20mm shells. After the war the company seemed to expand on many different fronts. The development of the FG range, the two-stroke diesel and the expansion into export markets, primarily South Africa and Australasia. Meanwhile the famous Foden Motor Works Band, formed on Mafeking night 1900, was regularly making records and performing concerts on the radio.

By 1954 what proved to be a very rugged and successful design of dump truck was produced and the two-stroke engine was becoming a very desirable option for marine applications. In 1958 the first glass reinforced plastic cabs were made enabling Fodens to produce the first British tilt cab in 1962. It is difficult to list the vast number of diverse designs which Fodens produced in the fifties and sixties - single and double deck buses, including the first rear engined bus in 1950, mobile crane chassis, heavy haulage tractors, timber tractors and the innovative 'twin-load' concept.

In the 1970's new models appeared for the general haulage market and a large contract was secured with the M.O.D. Unfortunately by the end of the decade, due to a number of factors but mainly recession, the company found itself in receivership and was acquired by Paccar, an American truck manufacturer. Under new ownership the name of Foden has continued to be prominent in the commercial vehicle industry. With new and improved designs the company has established itself as a premium vehicle manufacturer with the emphasis on custom building the vehicle to the customers' requirements.

Sadly the production plant at Sandbach is due to close in Spring 2000, with production transferring to Leyland. However, the Foden name is to continue. Quality, durability and excellence of engineering are terms which have become synonymous with Foden products in the past and will be equally applicable to Foden products in the future for many years to come.

Source: www.thefodensociety.co.uk