38 Facts About Kenworth

Kenworth marked several firsts in truck production; the company introduced a raised-roof sleeper cab, and the first heavy-duty truck with an aerodynamically optimized body design.

The Kenworth W900 has been produced continuously since 1961, serving as one of the longest production runs of any truck in automotive history.

Kenworth traces its roots to the 1912 founding of Gerlinger Motors in Portland, Oregon; the company was a car and truck dealership owned by brothers George T Gerlinger and Louis Gerlinger, Jr.

In contrast to car manufacturers, Kenworth abstained from assembly lines, instead constructing vehicles in individual bays.

Kenworth introduced a practice of building vehicles to customer specification .

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In 1926, Kenworth expanded its product line, introducing its first bus.

In 1932, Kenworth produced its first fire truck; adapted from its commercial truck, Kenworth fire engines were among the heaviest-duty fire apparatus of the time.

In 1936, Kenworth introduced the Model 516, its first cabover truck; the tandem-axle 346 was introduced for 1937.

In 1939, Kenworth introduced its 500-series trucks, which would form the basis of its commercial truck line into the mid-1950s.

In 1948, Kenworth redesigned the cab of its COE product line, later nicknamed the "Bull-nose" 500-series.

In 1955, Kenworth began the redesign of its COE product line, launching the CSE ; in line with the Bull-nose, the CSE shared its underpinnings with the 500-series trucks and did not have a tilting cab.

In 1956, Pacific Car and Foundry revised its ownership of Kenworth, changing it from an independent subsidiary to a division.

In 1957, Kenworth ended bus production, selling the rights to its product line .

In 1958, Kenworth became a sister company to Peterbilt, as the latter company was acquired by Pacific Car and Foundry.

In 1969 Kenworth hired Gary Ridgway who worked in their paint department for the next 32 years during which time he murdered 48 women as the "Green River Killer".

Kenworth added two new product lines in 1972, adding the C500 6x6 severe-service conventional and the Hustler low-cab COE .

In 1985, the Kenworth T600 was released by the company; in contrast to the W900, the T600 was designed with a set-back front axle and a sloped hoodline.

In 1987, Kenworth introduced the Mid-Ranger COE, its first medium-duty truck.

In 1993, Kenworth opened its facility in Renton, Washington, as its third United States assembly plant.

In 1996, Kenworth introduced the T2000 as its next-generation aerodynamic conventional.

In 2000, Kenworth redesigned its medium-duty COE range, with the K300 replacing the MAN-sourced design with a DAF 45 cab.

For 2013 production, the T680 was introduced as the third-generation aerodynamic Kenworth conventional, serving as a single replacement for the narrow-body T660 and the wide-body T700.

In 2021, Kenworth launched the T680 FCEV with a 10 vehicle demonstration fleet in California.

Australian built Kenworth models are exported to nearby RHD markets in New Zealand, Japan, Thailand and Papua New Guinea.

Kenworth Australia started building the new range of trucks tying in their 2008 release with the model range being the '08 Series'.

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Kenworth currently has manufacturing plants in Chillicothe, Ohio; Renton, Washington, US; Sainte-Therese, Quebec, Canada; Bayswater, Victoria, Australia ; and Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.

In 1926, Kenworth developed a chassis specifically for school and transit bus operators, known as the BU.

Kenworth continued expanding into bus production throughout the 1930s, despite the Great Depression being a major influence.

Production of Kenworth buses continued throughout the 1930s and into the early 1940s, and during this time Kenworth was manufacturing bus chassis for body builders such as Wentworth and Irwin, and Heiser.

In 1933, Kenworth released its most popular and successful line of transit bus, a conventional styled bus based on their Model 86 heavy duty truck.

Kenworth changed its production line early in 1939, reflecting a desire to remain "in tune" with market forces.

The conventional bus chassis, which had become poor sellers, were dropped altogether, and Kenworth focused its designs on more transit or "coach-type" buses with engines being located either underfloor or at the back of the bus.

Kenworth built a model 612, which became the company's most widely distributed underfloor coach.

In 1945, Kenworth was sold to Pacific Car and Foundry; both companies believed bus production would play a pivotal role in jumpstarting a postwar economy.

Kenworth saw the opportunity in hiring former military truck and aircraft workers as part of launching its post-war product line.

For 1946, Kenworth launched four new model lines of buses, deriving their model designations from the first four letters of the company name.

Subsequently, Kenworth added the Model O one-door transit bus and Model T prototype school bus.

Kenworth test-marketed a small 20-passenger bus known as the Carcoach .