Profile

Oshkosh Corporation, formerly Oshkosh Truck, is an American industrial company that designs and builds specialty trucks, military vehicles, truck bodies, airport fire apparatus and access equipment. The corporation also owns Pierce Manufacturing, a fire apparatus manufacturer in Appleton, Wisconsin. Based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the company employs approximately 16,000 people around the world. It is organized in four primary business groups: access equipment, defense, fire and emergency, and commercial. Founded in 1917 as the Wisconsin Duplex Auto Company, the company was created to build a severe-duty four-wheel-drive truck. After the first prototype was built, the company began to develop rapidly. This first four-wheel-drive truck, known today as "Old Betsy", is still owned by Oshkosh Corporation and housed in the new Global Headquarters building in Oshkosh. The vehicle still runs and is used frequently in demonstrations and parades. The first mass-produced truck was the 2-ton Model A, with seven produced in 1918. The 3.5-ton Model B and 5-ton Model F followed. The Model TR, introduced in 1933, was a diversification for the company and was the first rubber tired earthmover ever built.