There are many famous brands that are associated with the world of trucking. The truck makers spring to mind, with the mighty rigs made by Freightliner, Mack and Peterbilt being iconic sights on the roads of the USA. Indeed, trucking is very much an icon of the USA, and has its place in American folklore of the 20th century. Everyone from little kids to grown adults loves a good old American truck and trucker, and many a model has been made of the great designs across the years.
This article is not about trucks as such but is about a brand that manufacturers essential parts that keep them going. It’s a brand that, in trucking circles, is the epitome of trustworthy and reliable braking, suspension and safety products for trucks. We’re talking about Haldex which while not a household name to everyone, will be well known to truckers across the world. So, who are Haldex, and why has this brand become so highly regarded?
Haldex Founding and History
Despite its over-riding fame in the USA, Haldex is actually a Swedish company. The company we know today has its roots in business founded in Sweden in the early part of the 20th century, which eventually came together to eventually become Haldex. These included a company that manufactured typewriters, one that made taximeters for various vehicles, a locomotive brake manufacturer and an important company that designed and built engines for cars and aircraft.
The latter company was known as Thulinverken and had been founded around 1916 by a famous Swedish aviation pioneer by the name of Enoch Thulin. An engineer of supreme talent and – in his day, great repute – he is considered the founding father of the Swedish aircraft industry and also kickstarted motor car manufacturing in the country. It is his business that is widely regarded as being the bedrock of Haldex. Thulin died in 1919 when test-flying his latest aircraft and is remembered with great fondness in his home town today.
He is also indirectly responsible for one of the biggest manufacturers of truck brake systems, but up until recently it had largely been known for railway rolling stock products. Haldex brake adjusters are used worldwide on cars, trains and trucks of many types and brands, and it is this product line that remains the biggest seller for what is now a public company and one of the biggest in Sweden. Now, what about Haldex in trucking?
Haldex Today
If you research vehicle maintenance costs you will find that heavy-duty trucks are among the most expensive of all, and it is down to companies such as Haldex – with its wide range of braking, suspension and air control systems for trucks – that millions of these vehicles remain serviceable and on the roads of the USA and other countries across the world.
However, despite the many decades it had been in existence, it was not until 1993 that Haldex decided to embark on a project to design and develop advanced disc brakes for heavy-duty trucks. Such was the effort and detail put into the project that the first product – the ModulX disc brake range – came to market. It was an instant hit, offering improved performance over rival products, and was joined in 2011 by the second generation Haldex disc brake design, the ModulT. This model remains one of the major lines for the Haldex company and is used by various truck manufacturers, service and maintenance companies and other users worldwide. It is, however, just one of many products in the extensive range of Haldex products that help keep trucks on the road.
The company now covers many divisions and has manufacturing plants in each of the following countries as well as in its home country: The USA, Brazil, India, China, Germany, Mexico, and Hungary. As that list displays, Haldex is most certainly an international company with many customers across the globe, and it is still expanding today. What does the future hold for Haldex?
Haldex and Tomorrow
Haldex is now firmly established on the world stage and in the USA as a company that is integral and essential to the trucking industry. That it also makes and supplies parts for cars and other vehicles, plus railways, gives it a longevity that will surely see it around for a long time to come.
It is companies such as Haldex that provide the inspiration for developments in trucking components that keep vehicles of this type capable of an average yearly mileage that others would not manage, and the sheer breadth of the range is one that is not matched by many other parts makers. Truckers across the USA and the rest of the world rely on Haldex and similar outfits to keep them working, so check out the full range of superbly made truck parts right now.
