Hüffermann Wildeshausen, Germany     Founded in 1913 as a blacksmith, Hüfferman made primarily agricultural equipment, and only entered into the truck equipment field in the 1960s. By the 1990s, with third-generation owner Rolf Hüfferman in control, the company developed a line of front-loading and side-loading refuse bodies including one-man automated bin lifts. The front loader looks to have been based on the American Leach FL-104 series, and may have been produced under license. The side loaders and arms were in-house designs for which the company held their own patents.     An economic slowdown brought layoffs by 2002, and it became apparent that the production of refuse equipment was no longer viable without a multinational market presence, which would require a huge investment. Thus, in 2005 it was decided to sell off that portion of their business to the Otto Group, world-renowned bin manufacturer and by then already a majority shareholder. Hüfferman retained the remainer of its truck equipment business at Wildeshausen, but the refuse bodies thereafter came under the auspices of HN Entsorgungssysteme GmbH. Multiple acquisitions and buyouts led to control by Ros Roca and the name HN Schörling (by then owned by Ros Roca) to the current HS Fahrzeugbau located at Emstek. The Hüfferman influence can still be seen in the line of HS front loaders and ASL's. Hüfferman still produces some skip loaders, and recently partnered with the Finnish firm NTM as a distributor for their refuse truck bodies in Germany. 11/24/17 © 2017 All Rights Reserved Logos shown are the trademarks of respective manufacturers Photos from factory brochures/trade advertisements except as noted