Page 71 - Demo

come up the Kaimais – pull ‘em back to 900rpm and they’d just sit there.”
Bowman still had one of them working in his Auckland-based Bowman Bulk Freight business when he sold up, in 2008.
Globally, DAF’s roots date back to April 1, 1928 – when Dutch engineer Hub van Doorne started a small construction workshop in the city of Eindhoven, in the Netherlands.
It was only a shop tucked away in a corner of the Coolen brewery, where the talented van Doorne launched into work including welding and forging for local companies like lamp and radio manufacturer Philips.
The following Great Depression inspired van Doorne, by then joined by brother Wim, to expand the business – getting into trailer manufacturing in 1932.
And changing the name, appropriately, to Van Doorne’s Aanhangwagen Fabriek (loosely translated into Van Doorne’s semi- trailer factory)....abbreviated to DAF. Thanks to their welded chassis, the trailers that left the small factory, reportedly stood out from the opposition because of their high payload capabilities.
The welding that went into the trailers was, DAF reckons, “a unique innovation in those days, that significantly saved weight.” Another first was the DAF container trailer – launched in 1936
and designed to allow the fast loading and unloading of containers from railway carriages. It was a very early example of intermodal transportation and made DAF one of the world’s first suppliers of container trailers.
But 13 years later, the Van Doornes launched into a new area
of the road transport industry – beginning production of its first truck. Again appropriately, the company name changed too – to Van Doorne’s Automobiel Fabriek....still shortened to DAF.
A year later, series production was under way in DAF’s first dedicated truck factory, with three-tonne, 5t and 6t trucks being built.
Initially, the DAF trucks left the factory as rolling chassis, but with the characteristic grilles (with their seven chrome bars) already fitted....along with temporary seats made of wood. The DAF chassis were driven to bodybuilders for the mounting of custombuilt, locally-made cabs.
In 1951 DAF began making its own cabs, with rounded corners and a slanted front grille for improved aerodynamics. Driver comfort was enhanced with the introduction of a suspended seat.
Initially, DAF installed Hercules and Perkins petrol and diesel engines – but by 1957 it had designed and began manufacturing the first of its own engines, the DD575 diesel. Two years later, it added a turbocharger – “another groundbreaking achievement,” says the company.
In the 1960s, driver comfort was enhanced with what DAF says was the first cab designed for international transport – the DAF 2600 model equipped with two bunks and big windows for a spacious feeling....as well as an optimal view on the road. Power brakes and power steering added to the driver comfort.
In 1969, DAF was one of the first manufacturers to introduce a cab tilting mechanism – greatly improving maintenance access.
DAF reckons that when it introduced turbo intercooling in 1973, that was an industry-first: “The technology was initially developed to meet the demand for higher engine outputs and lower fuel consumption, but also proved to be indispensable in realising cleaner exhaust emissions.”
In the 1980s, DAF launched its advanced turbo intercooling (ATi), to provide power and efficiency gains through the refinement of
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