GINAF Heavy Duty Special Trucks 1948-present, but now in Chinese Hands sinds 2011
History
The story behind GINAF
In 1933, Evert van Ginkel Senior started a car dealership in Ederveen, the Netherlands. Right after the war the company branched out into dump truck services and conversion of A-Fords into agricultural tractors.
Evert van Ginkel’s sons Adrie and Wulfert established a partnership on 1 November 1948 to continue in their father’s footsteps
and further expand his business.
Their activities focused on army surplus trade and the conversion of lorries.
Throughout the 1950s the Van Ginkel family mainly sold unconverted REOs, which they obtained from surplus American army stock. The original petrol engine could, if required, be replaced by a new Leyland DAF diesel engine.
The floods of 1953 caused a huge increase in the need for dump trucks.
The purchase of an enormous batch of army surplus material from the US army in 1959, led to the Van Ginkel brothers, who had in the meantime been joined by the third brother, Evert-Jan, deciding to assume a more professional approach to their business and start building new trucks. These new trucks were the REOs with a cabin.
It was up to client to decide what kind of engine he wanted to have put in. But the best results were attained with DAF components.
In 1967, the Netherlands Centre for Vehicle Technology and Information recognized and registered Van Ginkel as a certified truck builder. From that moment on, their products were sold under the trade name GINAF. GINAF occupied a strong position in the dump truck segment.
From a technical point of view, the trucks were still made of components with an armed forces background. After thorough revisions, the axles, gearboxes, steering mechanisms etc. turned out to be indestructible. The use of these components ensures a low purchase price, which was the deciding factor leading many to buy a GINAF. The annual production grew to about 150 trucks. The 1970s saw an increase in the use of new components (such as cabins), mainly manufactured by DAF.
In 1976, GINAF introduced its own four-axle vehicle, the KFS 16 8×8. This was only the second 8×8 on the Dutch market. At the end of 1978, GINAF moved to new premises in Veenendaal. The spares warehouse and the service department remained in Ederveen. As of 1 January 1992, the old and the new branches were split up into separate companies.
The company continued to produce vehicles with army surplus components up to 1987. The year 1980 saw the introduction of the F 480 8×8, the first GINAF completely made up of new parts. The company signed a contract with DAF on 1 February 1982, which laid down that the latter would be taking care of the sales and service of GINAF products.
GINAF is still an independent family business. GINAF has been closely cooperating with DAF since the 1970s. GINAF has taken on a great deal of conversion work for DAF throughout the years. The 1980s heralded a time that saw a strong drive towards increasing the loading capacity of lorries. At the Dutch car industry trade fair of 1984, GINAF was ahead of the competition once more with the introduction of the first five-axle vehicles. The arrival of new, heavier components enabled a considerable upgrade of the product line.
Even greater tonnages turned out to be possible with the Hydropneumatic Suspension System (HPSS), which was introduced in 1986.
GINAF has been working on the basis of the modular construction principle since 1988. The company buys standard components from DAF, and builds its trucks in modules. This allows more flexible working methods and greater diversity in the models GINAF offers.
From 1990, all models could be supplied with the new DAF 95 (the G series). The type designation of GINAF trucks was changed when the new series was introduced. A numeric code indicates how many axles the truck has in total, how many of these axles are driven, and its registered gross vehicle weight.
GINAF presented the EVS (Electronic Vehicle Steering System) in 1991. This system was custom developed to enable steering of the rear straight axle in widespread tandems. This leads to a 4-tonne increase in the legal loading capacity. In 1993, GINAF introduced the M series with a DAF F75 or 85 cabin. After the introduction of the Tridem series (with triple rear axle arrangement) the present day X series followed.
GINAF has, throughout the years, also built a range of smaller series or single trucks. These “specials” are the result of the greater flexibility that GINAF has been displaying.
GINAF X3331 Dakar rally service truck
GINAF is a truck manufacturer which produces trucks mainly for heavy duty off-road transport, construction and agricultural work. About 250 trucks are made each year in the company’s factory in Veenendaal in the Netherlands. The company also has a service center for their trucks in the small Dutch town Ederveen.
History
The company was founded in 1948 by Wuf and Adrie van Ginkel and started out as a truck dealer. Modifications to trucks left over from the US Army such as the GMC Diamond were also done and these trucks were then sold. In the early 1960s the company became a true truck manufacturer and changed name to Van Ginkels Automobiel Fabriek, or GINAF for short. The company started producing their own trucks using mainly DAF components. Because of this GINAF trucks often look similar to DAF trucks as the cabin used is usually the same as the ones used by DAF.
Since 1986 GINAF uses a hydropneumatic suspension system for many of its trucks, which functions better under heavy loads and rough terrain compared to conventional suspension systems and also has a longer lifespan.
GINAF was declared bankrupt in December 2011; it was then taken over by Chinese Hi-Tech Group Corporation (CHTGC).
Special trucks
Special custom made trucks include firetrucks, riot control trucks, military trucks, garbage trucks and airport fuel bowsers. Several GINAF trucks also participate in the annual Dakar Rally as both rally and service trucks, having done so since 1987, though the first GINAF to participate in the rally was labelled as being a DAF for marketing purposes. The amount of GINAF trucks participating in the rally has been on the rise since Dutch driver Hans Bekx entered a newly constructed GINAF truck in 2000.
See also
References
- Jump up^ “CommercialMotor.com – GINAF goes Chinese! Dutch specialist multi-axle truck maker sold to far East”. Commercial Motor. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
Thank you for all the beautiful pictures you photographers made in the last years. I can’t ask you all for permission and hope you enjoy the result of a collector about GINAF
Greetings and enjoy:
Jeroen
Myn Transport Blog 