Western Body & Hoist Company

Western: The Final Years     The end on the 1960s saw Western Body & Hoist at the top of the refuse truck body industry in California and beyond. In the less than twenty years since their first humble truck loader attachment, they now produced every type of front loader imaginable, from a simple non-comp body all the way up to the mammoth 58-cubic yard Full-Pak. In between, there was the innovative Jet front loader, which was also being adapted to automated loading (an industry first). The Shu-Pak franchise, which Western had built up over the decade, was wildly popular and spreading across the entire country. The promise of even greater success in the 1970s lay ahead for Western.     Then, in late 1970, Western Body & Hoist was sold Maxon Industries of Huntington Park, a manufacturer of lift gates and truck bodies. The reason for the sudden sale came to light in a 2015 interview by Zachary Geroux with with Otto Ganter, a longtime Western engineer and current president of Norcal Waste Equipment. According to Ganter, it was the sudden death of Morrison's business partner which forced the sale, since his heirs had no interest in the company. For a short time, Western Body & Hoist operated as a subsidiary of Maxon, carrying over its product line intact. Changes came after Maxon subsequently purchased Bemars Inc. in 1972.     Gradually, the Western name and product line faded as Maxon emphasized the Bemars brand. The Full-Pak and Half-Pak front loaders became redundant and were phased-out, while the Jet, and its offshoot the Barrel Snatcher, were cancelled. Maxon barely fulfilled the remaining order of three units that Scottsdale, Arizona had inked with Western, delivering the last unit in 1973. Curiously, Maxon featured the Barrel Snatcher in early advertisements, although it was technically never available for sale. In fairness, the model was unprofitable, needed years of development to perfect, and had only a single user at the time. By contrast, the Shu-Pak franchise was like gold, and was carried over as a Maxon product until they introduced their own side-loader in 1978.     As for George Morrison, he was still very much in the game, staying on as chief engineer for Maxon refuse equipment for a few years. Otto Ganter and other employees moved north to the San Franscisco Bay area and founded Norcal Equipment in 1973, building bodies almost identical to the Western line. Although long gone, Western Body & Hoist had a profound and lasting influence on the refuse equipment industry, made more notable by the relatively short period of time they were in business. Sincere thanks to the following individuals who contributed material to this history: Scott Blake The Bowles Family Zachary Geroux Dana Gregory Rick Pence 42-yard Full-Pak with oil tank now located under the cab shield. Granda-Sanchez was a longtime user of Western Full-Paks Mid-60s Full-Pak with new vertical rib construction. This massive 28' body was rated at 58-cubic yards capacity. 28-yard Full-Pak with optional hydraulic hopper cover, and a side-pocket type forks A non-compaction front loader, the style of body Western first produced in 1952 36-yard Top-Pak with side-forks, a high-lift telescopic body hoist and new over-the-cab lift arms. 34-yard Top-Pak with twin underbody hoist arrangement. The packer blade cylinder projects out the front of the cab shield. The Western Half-Pak was very much like a contemporary Bemars front loader 58-cubic yard Full Pak owned by the Midway City (California) Sanitary District with newer over-the-cab lift arms Despite its size, it weighed 550 pounds less than a 38-cubic yard Dempster Dumpmaster. It has side-forks and a power hopper cover. An air-cooled Wisconsin V-4 auxiliary engine is mounted ahead of the rear wheels, powering the hydraulic pump for "pack-on-the-move" operation. The Shu-Pak changed the way residential refuse was collected in southern California. This 38-cubic yard model has a liquid-cooled auxiliary engine mounted above the hopper for pack-on-the run efficiency and right-hand stand-up drive. On this 3-axle White Compact, it could haul a 10-ton legal payload. This handy container hauler was mounted on a light pickup truck; sliding forks could be manually folded in when not in use Western "dead lift" roll-of units REFERENCES Classic Refuse Trucks: Maxon Industries Classic Refuse Trucks: Norcal 9/9/18 © 2018 All Rights Reserved Photos from factory brochures/advertisements except as noted Logos shown are the trademarks of respective manufacturers