BACK
" Year after year,
were driven to build the best trucks."
The History of Grumman Olson
1946 Jimmy Olson, Commissioner
of the New York State Liquor Authority, and Walter Heingartner, owner of Kinney Motors
Chevrolet in Brooklyn, N.Y., incorporated J.B.E. Olson Corporation in New York to sell
aluminum-body trucks to the laundry industry. The truck, called the "Kargo
King," is built for Olson by Grumman Aircraft Engineering, which produced fighter
planes during World War II, with the chassis produced by Chevrolet.
1946 All the Chevy dealers on the East
Coast are invited to the introduction of the Kargo King at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in
New York City. Salespeople write 450 orders for the truck that day.
1948 After only 300 units are built,
production is transferred from the plant in Bethpage, N.Y., to an old lifeboat factory on
the Hudson River in Athens, N.Y.
1948 The company becomes Aerobuilt Bodies,
Inc., and sells the units to J.B.E. Olson Corporation.
1948 Jimmy Olson convinces Grumman, through
his friend and one of Grummans founders, Jack Swirbul, to modify a Chevy Cab Chassis
and develop the aluminum walk-in body, which is named the Kurbside.
1955 To meet competition in the truck body
market, Grumman designs the Olsonette. A smaller truck, the Olsonette features many design
innovations, including the "eyebrow" extrusion above the windshield, a Grumman
trademark for years to come. Production of the truck does not begin, however.
1958 J.B.E. Olson founder Jimmy Olson dies.
Wally Spielman purchases his stock in the company as well as Walter Heingartners,
who returns to managing his dealership.
1960 Aerobuilt Bodies hires a new chief
engineer, Harold Turner, and the Olsonette begins production. The Olsonette/Chevrolet
chassis combination is sold to Philadelphia Newspapers.
1962 The best features of the Kurbside and
the Olsonette are incorporated into a new unit, nicknamed the O.K., which becomes the
Kurbvan. The truck is an immediate success. Aerobuilt becomes a Grumman subsidiary,
Grumman Allied Industries.
1963 Grumman Allied buys identical plants
in Sherman, Texas, and Sturgis, Mich., from the Glaspar Boat Company. These two additional
locations help expand the market by relieving the high cost of transporting finished
units.
1965 A smaller version of the Olsonette,
with better vision and a Kurbside-style front, is designed. Called the Kurbside Junior, it
is sold to UPS and the New York City Ambulance Service.
1966 Grumman teams up with UPS to develop
the now familiar UPS P-600 and P-800 truck bodies, featuring lift-up fiberglass hoods and
translucent fiberglass roofs.
1968 The Kurbmaster is developed and
introduced to meet customer demands for easier engine access and servicing. Grumman Allied
purchases J.B.E. Olson Corporation. The three plants then operate as Olson Bodies, while
the sales organization operates as J.B.E. Olson.
1969 Grumman Bodies buys 47 acres near
Tulare, Calif., and builds a 70,000-square-foot production plant. Olson Bodies begins
development of the Grumman Motor Home. Production is moved to Sturgis in 1971 where a
small, 17-passenger bus is developed and added to the current line of products.
1972 The Montgomery, Pa., facility is
opened to produce modular buildings and motor homes. Slumping sales of both lead to the
introduction of truck production at the facility.
1973 Engineering is transferred from Athens
to the expanded Sturgis location.
1974 Grumman Allied opens a facility in
Mayfield, Pa., to build UPS truck bodies.
1979 A major paint shop addition is built
at the Sturgis facility.
1981 Grumman Allied closes the Athens plant
due to a sluggish U.S. economy.
1982 The Sturgis facility produces a record
583 units in one month while reaching a yearly production total of 6,000.
1985 Grumman Olson headquarters is moved
from Melville, N.Y., to Sturgis.
1986 Fewer sales in the South and Southwest
force the closing of the Sherman facility. Grumman Olsons United States Postal
Service Long Life Vehicle prototype wins the governments durability contest, and
Grumman Olson wins the initial $1.1 billion contract. Grumman Allied dedicates its
Montgomery facility to LLV production as a separate operation. LLV production continues
until 1995, with more than 150,000 produced.
1989 Grumman Olson introduces the Freight
StarTM Dry Freight Van, expanding its product offering.
1994 Northrop purchases Grumman
Corporation.
1995 The Mayfield plant is phased out,
while the Montgomery facility rejoins the Olson division of Grumman Allied after the
completion of the Postal Service LLV contract. A major capital investment upgrades
facilities, equipment and processes in the Sturgis, Montgomery, and Tulare facilities.
1997 Grumman Olson management acquire the
company through a buy out and continue the philosophy of the previous owners.
1999 Acquisition of Complete Refrigerated
Truck Bodies, Inc. of Alvaton, Georgia allows Grumman Olson to add refrigerated truck
bodies to their product line.
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