Did you know that the vast majority of goods transported across the USA go by road? You may think that, for such a large area, air freight may be the favored method. Yet air freight is expensive, aeroplanes can only carry a limited weight, and the goods still have to get from source and to destination to and from the airport.
Trucks – mainly the massive semi-trucks that are a familiar sight on the freeways of the USA – are the workhorses of America, carrying millions of tonnes of food and consumer goods up, down, and across the country. The market for semi-trucks is a busy one, with a mixture of mainly US and European manufacturers competing for a market share.
One of the most iconic and legendary US truck makers is Kenworth. We want to look at this long-established brand and why it so beloved of truckers in the USA. If you have a look at this link – Aftermarket Kenworth Parts & Accessories | Shift Products – you’ll get an idea of the popularity of the Kenworth brand. So, what are the origins of Kenworth, and how did it become the brand it is today?
The Kenworth Story
Kenworth was born in 1923 when a small-scale truck produce called Gersix was reincorporated as the Kenworth Motor Truck Company. A factory was built in Seattle, where Kenworth remains to this day. In those early days they manufactured buses and trucks and – in a unique service still offered by Kenworth today – also built trucks to customer’s specifications.
As the years passed Kenworth branched out into the Heavy Truck Market with a range of colossal and impressive vehicles. They also manufacture trucks for the Australian market built in Australia. Australia is the second largest market in the world for class 7 and 8 trucks.
The brand is highly regarded as a maker of quality, reliable, and supremely powerful trucks suitable for US roads and used by the Australian ‘Road Trains’ which comprise the heaviest loads seen on the road anywhere in the world.
But what can go wrong with a Kenworth truck? While famed for reliability, Kenworth’s are just like any other heavy truck in that they a great many perishable components necessary to keep them on the road. Let’s talk about the importance of using original or OEM parts.
Why Use Genuine Parts?
OEM stands for ‘Original Equipment Manufacturer.’ For example, a Kenworth truck may have many parts that are manufactured by Kenworth itself. These are indeed OEM parts. However, it will also feature components bought in from other specialist manufacturers: brake components, for example, or parts of the engine, and the tires and so forth. These are also OEM parts.
It is important that when a part is replaced an OEM replacement is used. This is because these specific parts were chosen for the truck by the maker for their quality, reliability, and efficiency. Some parts of a truck take a lot of wear and tear and replacing with a lesser quality example that is cheaper than the OEM equivalent is not cost-effective as will not perform as well, will wear more quickly, and will not last as long. Buy OEM parts to keep your Kenworth performing to its best ability.
Conclusion
One of the longest established of all the US truck manufacturers, Kenworth is now part of the PACCAR group of companies which also includes Peterbilt Trucks, Leyland Trucks, and DAF trucks plus manufacturers of heavy industrial equipment. Keep your Kenworth truck up to date and safe with replacement parts from Kenworth and other OEM suppliers.
