The history of Leyland Trucks began in 1896 when the Sumner and Spurrier families founded the Lancashire Steam Motor Company.  Over the next century, Leyland evolved in the UK’s leading producer and exporter of medium- and heavy-duty trucks known for its world-class factory, industry-leading products, and robust manufacturing capabilities founded on a build-to-order philosophy.  In June 1998, Leyland became PACCAR’s centre for light- and medium-duty truck design, development and manufacture.

Building Technological Leadership

PACCAR has grown Leyland’s capabilities through strategic investments in technology, products and infrastructure.  The Leyland Assembly Plant, already one of Europe’s most advanced truck manufacturing facilities, benefited immediately from these investments.

In the 1998, the factory manufactured 9,000 trucks per year.  Innovative improvements to the 710,000-square-foot facility – including a new PACCAR body production line, a robotic paint line for truck chassis, electronic work instructions with touchscreen monitors, and the consolidation of two production lines into one – enhanced production by 72% to over 15,000 trucks per year. 

Installations of LED factory lighting and a new roof created a bright work environment, contributing to record quality, efficiency and safety.  In accordance with PACCAR’s commitment to environmental excellence, the factory achieved zero waste to landfill status in 2008.

In 2003, PACCAR Parts constructed a Parts Distribution Centre (PDC) on the Leyland site to provide support for the DAF UK and European Dealer Networks. It now operates as one of Europe’s main PDC hubs specialising in aftersales support, distribution, logistics and service for DAF and other truck makes, buses and trailers.

An enhanced truck test facility, built in 2017, allows Leyland to tailor tests for all vehicle types while combining the dynamometer and brake test functions in one process.  The improved facility reduces test process time by 50%.

During the construction of DAF’s Ponta Grossa production facility in 2012, Leyland employees contributed their expertise to help establish the state-of-the-art Brazil plant.

A Culture of Innovation

The Leyland Design Centre is a proving ground for new ideas, many of which have been adopted at other PACCAR locations.

At the turn of the 21^st century, Leyland – in partnership with DAF – designed the new light- and medium-duty truck range. Years of development paid off when the LF won International Truck of the Year in 2002, with the independent voting body hailing the LF for its operational cost, functionality and driver comfort. Today, Leyland manufactures the full DAF product range of LF, CF and XF, 40% of which are exported around the world.

Successful initiatives such as robotic chassis painting, which saved Leyland £1 million in the first year of production, have been adopted at other PACCAR plants.

Award-Winning Recognition

Leyland Trucks’ commitment to quality has achieved numerous accolades:

Nine PACCAR Chairman’s Awards for Quality

Britain’s Best Engineering Factory

The Queens Award for Export and Enterprise

A Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Order of Distinction for 23 years of safety excellent

Two Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) Overall category awards

2015 Best Factory for Supply Chain

2017 Manufacturer MX Award for Partnership with Education

“Leyland’s world-class status is maintained by our ability to leverage a community of expertise,” said Bryan Sitko, Leyland managing director. “Our loyal and committed workforce pools their combined years of truck building knowledge and shares that asset with new employees. These efforts are crucial to helping us deliver industry-leading quality trucks built by quality people.”

Leyland Trucks

1998: PACCAR acquires Leyland

2003: PACCAR Parts establishes Leyland PDC

2004: Assembly plant constructs new roof

2005: Robotic Chassis Paint installed

2007: Installation of PACCAR Body Production

2008: Plant achieves zero waste to landfill status

2012: Leyland assists building Ponta Grossa truck plant

2014: Electronic Work Instructions (EWI) implemented

2017: New Dynamometer test facility constructed

2017: New factory LED lighting installed