Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nuernberg, better known to readers as MAN, was founded as an engineering company in 1820, right at the start of the industrial revolution in Europe. The company would go on to make history in 1897 when, cooperating with Dr Rudolf Diesel, it pioneered the production of the first diesel engine.

A few years later a joint venture with Saurer was signed in May 1915 which resulted in the building of the company's new product of road going trucks. The following years saw MAN's production independence and ever increasing business activity, but still continuing many beneficial associations with component manufacturers.

By the early 1960s the firm's forward control trucks were selling well in world markets such as South America, Africa and of course at home in Europe. The Achilles heel of the bonnet nosed cab back then was internal space, so an exchange agreement was entered into with Saviem in 1969 which allowed their recently designed, forward control cab to be used by MAN and in return the larger Munich produced engines were transferred for use in Saviem's larger trucks.

With such a well engineered powertrain and chassis; the new cab proved to be the icing on the cake for the company. With up to the minute styling, superb visibility, comfortable seating and wide bunk beds, drivers were more than happy now to get behind the wheel of this newcomer, which was introduced to Britain shortly after the 1972 Commercial Vehicle Show.

This cab must have paid for its design costs literally millions of times over, as although regularly revamped, it stayed in production for a long innings of 31 years until the TGA models were introduced.

The 16.232 model was the first to hit UK roads and was well received by both CV press and long distance trunking operators in particular.

An 8 wheeled rigid chassis with a 30 ton GVW, aimed at the tipper men was launched soon after at the 1975 Harrogate Tipcon and 12 months later a comprehensive range of light trucks was offered to customers after a joint development programme with near neighbours Volkswagen.

Never ones to stand still, MAN unveiled the higher power 16.280 turbocharged version in late 1976, with the model being awarded the 'Truck of the Year ' trophy in January 1978. In fact, collecting the honours would become a bit of a habit for this manufacturer, with the aforementioned acclaim going to the F90 in 1987, the F2000 in 1995 and the TGA/TGL ranges in the 21st century.

Northern Success

Traditionally, MAN's always sold steadily in Scotland and the north of England with a wide customer base ranging across all types of hauliers and own account operators. The launch of the F2000 range almost 11 years ago really took the marque to another level with new and repeat business coming in the shape of multi-vehicle orders in more than a few instances.

The ultimate evolution of this reliable and long serving model proved for many contractors to be the best vehicle they had ever operated in respect of whole life costs.

The higher roof Roadhaus cab option also ensured that the continuing trend of larger, more luxurious cabs held momentum and kept the truck builder alongside its competitors.

In the year 2000 MAN further increased its 'tyre tread print' on the roads of Europe with the purchase of ERF from Western Star and was able to increase and develop the support and dealership network to comprehensively cover both marques.

Today's 21st century MAN TG and ERF ranges cover almost every kind of truck imaginable from 7.5 tonners right up to specialised multi-axle tractor units for heavy haulage applications and as with all the leading producers now, continual technology improvements are at the forefront of any developments.

The company's D20 common rail engine and TipMatic auto gearbox give competitive fuel returns and allows the driver more time to concentrate on road conditions.

This powertrain combination has proved popular with many buyers and is no doubt a key factor in MAN's market share of tractor unit sales jumping 34.6% in the 12 months from year end 2004 to 2005.

The data information options offered by their in-house Telematics system using satellite transmissions gives operators the chance to view an incredible range of statistics and measurements from their vehicles instantly, in real time on a 24/7 basis.

So after 90 successful years it would be fairly safe to say that the company is in for the long haul. It's just a case of watch this space MAN!