Sad offerings

[james j neiweem]

Volvo hopes they can fill the holes.

[james j neiweem]

Too be fair Mack has six models--- Pinnacle AF and AB/Granite AF and AB/MR and LR. Rawhide isn't a model its a trim level. Still way behind Volvo/Paccar/Navistar/Freightliner and Western Star. A company that made every model under the sun and shipped them all over the world is now in last place as far as selection. Can't blame Volvo for  every thing. Mack has been bleeding(divesting) for many years. Fire apparatus gone. Logging gone. Heavy off road gone. Heavy haul gone. Mid range gone. Signal bailed them out and dumped them. Renault kept them alive and dumped them. Volvo has turned them into an uncompetitive product on a Volvo chassis powered by a Volvo drive train. Sad for the long time loyal Mack users. Mack did it to themselves by not taking care of business way back when. On a minor brighter note- New model coming in the fall????

[kscarbel2]

1 hour ago, james j neiweem said:

Too be fair Mack has six models--- Pinnacle AF and AB/Granite AF and AB/MR and LR. Rawhide isn't a model its a trim level. Still way behind Volvo/Paccar/Navistar/Freightliner and Western Star. A company that made every model under the sun and shipped them all over the world is now in last place as far as selection. Can't blame Volvo for everything. Mack has been bleeding(divesting) for many years. Fire apparatus gone. Logging gone. Heavy off road gone. Heavy haul gone. Mid range gone. Signal bailed them out and dumped them. Renault kept them alive and dumped them. Volvo has turned them into an uncompetitive product on a Volvo chassis powered by a Volvo drive train. Sad for the long time loyal Mack users. Mack did it to themselves by not taking care of business way back when. On a minor brighter note- New model coming in the fall????

Jim, they actually only have four models. Axle-forward and axle-back configurations are variants of the same model.

We got out of off-highway because it was no longer profitable or practical. CAT works from a different angle........they can make it work but even for them it's about appearing to have a full portfolio rather than it being a profit center.

We had the best executive vice president of fire apparatus sales there ever was. He retired after a decades-long brilliant career. He was replaced by a drunk, and our fire apparatus business collapsed. That was the only major mistake that I hold the former Mack Trucks accountable for.

"Bleeding (divesting) for years"?  Signal did not "dump" Mack, in the sense that I know the term. Signal changed drastically as a company and Mack no longer fit their new direction.  As always, I respect your opinions, but mine are different.

 

[kscarbel2]

On 6/18/2017 at 1:11 AM, james j neiweem said:

I guess the new Scania boss is not taking the Volvo reins off of Mack any more than the last bean counter did. I guess the bottom line is Volvo does not want to get pounded in the market place by the green haired step child. Didn't want to offend any red heads.

First of all Jim, the situation described, the minuscule Mack product portfolio, was in place when Martin Lundstedt arrived from Scania. One can arguably blame former ship's captain Olof Persson.

And the reason he was begged to come over to Volvo, and Olof fired, is the fact that the company was in a financial crisis.

Now, if Martin took "the Volvo reins off of Mack" today, just what heavy truck professional under the Mack brand at Volvo's Greensboro HQ would he be handing the reins over to?  

The last person they had of any substance was 40-year Mack veteran Kevin Flaherty who was forced into retirement by then Volvo CEO Olof Persson in September 2013.

[james j neiweem]

KS: As usual our opinions are different. The difference is my opinions are just that opinions from my perspective. Your opinions are more closely tied to facts.

[mackdaddy]

I think that Signal........as a roll up investment firm........did quite nicely with their investment in Mack.

[kscarbel2]

46 minutes ago, mackdaddy said:

I think that Signal........as a roll up investment firm........did quite nicely with their investment in Mack.

"In my opinion, the Mack-Signal merger was the most successful large corporate merger ever attempted."

Zenon C.R. Hansen

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mack Trucks was at a crossroads when they decided to bring Zenon C.R. Hansen on board to "fix the problem" and lead the company in an all new direction. He did.

Zenon "wanted" Signal's financial support, and he later credited the Signal Companies' board for Mack Trucks' return to dominance. Their financial backing could, and did, supercharge Zenon's growth plans for Mack Trucks. And, Signal promised to allow Mack Trucks to operate with autonomy. They did. Mack earned more money for Signal than any other subsidiary, and Zenon famously kept them aware of that!

In addition to Signal's financial backing being important to Mack's success, Zenon said "the really significant value has been this, that Mack has been associated with a high-grade organization which made good on all its agreements. We have kept our autonomy under Signal, and they have not meddled in the day-to-day operations of our business."

Once, Zenon walked into a Signal board meeting to discuss bonus plans for the conglomerate companies. They didn't tell Zenon what bonuses were going to be handed out, rather he told them! Speaking to the board of the parent company, Zenon knew that it was his company, Mack Trucks, that was making all the money for Signal, and he told them so!

"This is the bonus plan this year in my company [Mack Trucks]. I don't care what you're doing in your companies, but this is what I'm doing in mine."

Particularly while Zenon C.R. Hansen ran Mack, the Signal Companies was extremely loyal to Mack Trucks.

In 1964, prior to Zenon taking over Mack Trucks, the company reported US$275 million in sales. In 1966 with Zenon at the helm for two years, Mack sales reached US$411 million. And in 1970, sales leaped to US$534 million.

We're talking about the man that issued every Mack employee a silver dollar-sized coin with a bulldog on one side, and a slogan on the other side stating "You Make the Difference". I carry my coin every day.

Mack's outstanding earnings in 1966 was a double-edged sword........it made Mack Trucks a takeover target.

Initially, to fight back, Zenon was designated chairman and CEO as well as president. But he finally realized that Mack needed the financial security and protection of a larger conglomerate, but the merger would be on Zenon's terms.

Zenon said, "Our feeling was that if we had to get into bed with someone, it would be a Park Avenue glamour girl, not a Greenwich Village streetwalker."

Zenon believed that a successful merger must address four priorities in this particular order:

1. The employees

2. The dealers; they have US$100 million tied up in Mack trucks and parts

3. The Mack customer

4. The stockholder

In responding to critics who said that shareholders should be the first priority, Zenon said, "What good is the stockholder's dollar if the employees are not happy, if the dealers are in trouble, if they don't have a customer?"

New York bankers introduced Mack Trucks to the Los Angeles-based Signal Oil & Gas Company, and it was the perfect match.

Recalling their initial meeting, Zenon said, "You size up the people and pull it out fast. We had never met, and we had an agreement in two and a half hours."

In the deal, Mack and Zenon retained complete autonomy, and Signal promised not to acquire any other truckmaker. Mack Trucks received Signal's financial backing to ramp up plant expansion, production and sales, and Zenon joined Signal's board of directors.

As a result of the Mack-Signal merger, Mack Trucks in 1971 was once more the top selling diesel truck in the United States. One out of five heavy trucks wore a bulldog.

By the end of 1973, nine years after Zenon C.R. Hansen had taken the helm at Mack Trucks:

- Production had increased 138 percent

- New truck deliveries increased 134 percent

- Mack sales skyrocketed 200 percent, from US$275 million to US$880 million

- Shareholder's equity rose 147 percent, with return on invested capital increasing from 2.7% to 13%

- Earnings per share increased by an astonishing 764 percent

All of this, because of Signal's support of Mack Trucks and Zenon C.R. Hansen, the best truckmaking CEO in the history of the industry right up to the present day.

As Zenon proudly said, and history has gone on to confirm:

"I don't think many companies can match that record. I have been asked many times how we did this. I will say it again, there's no substitute for experience. It all boils down to experience, damn hard work, and good application of effort by the Mack management team. Our talented, dedicated, ingenious Mack people have made a difference."

 

 

[Mackpro]

I for one hope they don't add any new models mainly because I have to work on them. We do good enough to keep them running as is and keep parts.  Not to mention keeping techs to work on them.  In the next 5-10 years I see 2-3 week wait times for engine/emissions technical repair.  My count down timer is already set for my last day , sadly I have 4687 days left . I going to see if I can pre apply for the Walmart door greeter job! 

[mackey58]

Took our 90 RD690 to a local shop for engine work. I think I lost an injector. They had an open bay and the tech came over when I got out, looked under the dash and under the hood, and asked where do you plug the laptop in? I kid you not  I didn't know what to say

[TS7]

The customer is number 1. If the customer is not happy, you do not need overpaid employees.

[39 Baby Mack]

"In my opinion, the Mack-Signal merger was the most successful large corporate merger ever attempted."

Zenon C.R. Hansen

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mack Trucks was at a crossroads when they decided to bring Zenon C.R. Hansen on board to "fix the problem" and lead the company in an all new direction. He did.

Zenon "wanted" Signal's financial support, and he later credited the Signal Companies' board for Mack Trucks' return to dominance. Their financial backing could, and did, supercharge Zenon's growth plans for Mack Trucks. And, Signal promised to allow Mack Trucks to operate with autonomy. They did. Mack earned more money for Signal than any other subsidiary, and Zenon famously kept them aware of that!

In addition to Signal's financial backing being important to Mack's success, Zenon said "the really significant value has been this, that Mack has been associated with a high-grade organization which made good on all its agreements. We have kept our autonomy under Signal, and they have not meddled in the day-to-day operations of our business."

Once, Zenon walked into a Signal board meeting to discuss bonus plans for the conglomerate companies. They didn't tell Zenon what bonuses were going to be handed out, rather he told them! Speaking to the board of the parent company, Zenon knew that it was his company, Mack Trucks, that was making all the money for Signal, and he told them so!

"This is the bonus plan this year in my company [Mack Trucks]. I don't care what you're doing in your companies, but this is what I'm doing in mine."

Particularly while Zenon C.R. Hansen ran Mack, the Signal Companies was extremely loyal to Mack Trucks.

In 1964, prior to Zenon taking over Mack Trucks, the company reported US$275 million in sales. In 1966 with Zenon at the helm for two years, Mack sales reached US$411 million. And in 1970, sales leaped to US$534 million.

We're talking about the man that issued every Mack employee a silver dollar-sized coin with a bulldog on one side, and a slogan on the other side stating "You Make the Difference". I carry my coin every day.

Mack's outstanding earnings in 1966 was a double-edged sword........it made Mack Trucks a takeover target.

Initially, to fight back, Zenon was designated chairman and CEO as well as president. But he finally realized that Mack needed the financial security and protection of a larger conglomerate, but the merger would be on Zenon's terms.

Zenon said, "Our feeling was that if we had to get into bed with someone, it would be a Park Avenue glamour girl, not a Greenwich Village streetwalker."

Zenon believed that a successful merger must address four priorities in this particular order:

1. The employees

2. The dealers; they have US$100 million tied up in Mack trucks and parts

3. The Mack customer

4. The stockholder

In responding to critics who said that shareholders should be the first priority, Zenon said, "What good is the stockholder's dollar if the employees are not happy, if the dealers are in trouble, if they don't have a customer?"

New York bankers introduced Mack Trucks to the Los Angeles-based Signal Oil & Gas Company, and it was the perfect match.

Recalling their initial meeting, Zenon said, "You size up the people and pull it out fast. We had never met, and we had an agreement in two and a half hours."

In the deal, Mack and Zenon retained complete autonomy, and Signal promised not to acquire any other truckmaker. Mack Trucks received Signal's financial backing to ramp up plant expansion, production and sales, and Zenon joined Signal's board of directors.

As a result of the Mack-Signal merger, Mack Trucks in 1971 was once more the top selling diesel truck in the United States. One out of five heavy trucks wore a bulldog.

By the end of 1973, nine years after Zenon C.R. Hansen had taken the helm at Mack Trucks:

- Production had increased 138 percent

- New truck deliveries increased 134 percent

- Mack sales skyrocketed 200 percent, from US$275 million to US$880 million

- Shareholder's equity rose 147 percent, with return on invested capital increasing from 2.7% to 13%

- Earnings per share increased by an astonishing 764 percent

All of this, because of Signal's support of Mack Trucks and Zenon C.R. Hansen, the best truckmaking CEO in the history of the industry right up to the present day.

As Zenon proudly said, and history has gone on to confirm:

"I don't think many companies can match that record. I have been asked many times how we did this. I will say it again, there's no substitute for experience. It all boils down to experience, damn hard work, and good application of effort by the Mack management team. Our talented, dedicated, ingenious Mack people have made a difference."

 

 

That's great!

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mr. Hansen in I think it was 1970.

I was fifteen at the time and didn't quite know what to expect? It didn't take long for him to put you at ease. A very nice down to earth gentleman!

I'm repeating myself but one thing I'll never forget his how he called my bluff. I was kidding him about all the bulldogs he was wearing, suit buttons, tie clasp, etc., etc. and with a smile and a poke in my side he showed me the zipper pull on his pants!

Last time I ever talked to him was in the early eighties, we were having a problem with a truck that was at Somerset Mack.

One of my older brothers was trying to get some satisfaction from the Mack Co. with no success and wanted to talk to the president, no go.

I called up to the office from the shop and asked our secretary to look up Mr. Hansen's phone number in Sebring, Fl.

She called me back with the number and I called him.

Didn't know who answered the phone so I asked if I could talk to Zenon Hansen, he said well this is Zenon!

I asked if he remembered our company and me and I told him what our problem was. He said it was good hearing from me and gave me Jack Curcio's private number into Allentown, through Rosalee, and strictly off the record here's his home phone number too!