DAF Trucks
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| Subsidiary of PACCAR since 1996 | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1993 (historical 1928) |
| Headquarters | Eindhoven, Netherlands |
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Key people
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Preston Feight, President |
| Products | Trucks |
| Parent | Paccar |
| Subsidiaries |
Tatra (19%) DAF Trucks Australia |
| Website | www.daf.com |
DAF Trucks NV is a Dutch truck manufacturing company and a division of Paccar. Its headquarters and main plant are in Eindhoven. Cabs and axle assemblies are produced at its Westerlo plant in Belgium. Some of the truck models sold with the DAF brand are designed and built by Leyland Trucks at their Farington plant in Preston, England.
In 1928, Hubert "Hub" van Doorne founded the company as Commanditaire Vennootschap Hub van Doorne's Machinefabriek. His co-founder and investor was A.H. Huenges, managing director of a brewery. Van Doorne had repaired Huenges' car several times. Huenges was so pleased with his work that he offered to finance him in business. Hub started to work in a small workshop on the grounds of the brewery. In 1932, the company, now run by Hub and his brother, Wim van Doorne, changed its name to Van Doorne's Aanhangwagen Fabriek (Van Doorne's Trailer Factory), abbreviated to DAF. Huenges left the company in 1936 and the DAF company was now completely in the hands of the van Doorne brothers.
DAF developed the Trado conversions to convert 4×2 Ford trucks to an off-road 6×4 drive. One of DAF's few armoured vehicles was the M39 Pantserwagen, using developments of this Trado drivetrain. This was too late for WWII and the invasion of the Netherlands, and only three saw combat.
After the Second World War, luxury cars and lorries were very scarce. This meant a big opportunity for DAF. In 1949, the company started making lorries, trailers and buses, changing its name to Van Doorne's Automobiel Fabriek (Van Doorne's Automobile Factory). The first lorry model was the DAF A30.
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