Evening all, having spent a fair bit of time in and around Belgium, its domestic commercial vehicle and haulage scene, not to mention Cycle racing, Beer, Accordian and Organ music, frites and mayonaisse, I have a real love of the country, its people, but not its climate!!
AEC, and Maudslays importer was Ets Spitals SA, based at Deurne, Antwerpen. Spitals were also the importer/concessionaire for Berliet. In 1960, to "seperate the marques AECs portion of Spitals business was renamed AEC Continental SA.
Although the majority of chassis cabs were “cabbed” by Bollekens, Duffel. Other examples were fitted with cabs by Jonkheere, and Van Hool. In the main office reception of the brewer Van Roy, at Wieze was a photograph of some of their Bollekens cabbed AECs. The haulier Pirson, based at Gembloux had photographs of a handsome Mk 111 Mandator, fitted with a sleeper cab by Van Hool that ran up untill the early 70s. AEC were popular buys for the Brewers, Lamott from Mechelen also ran quite a few, but again with Bolleken cabs.
Spitals modified the UK chassis cabs to suit the Belgian market by replacing the AEC axle with a 13tonne rated, US manufactured, Timkin axle, hence the name for the Belgian Mandator, the “Super” Mandator! I remember seeing a Van Hool cabbed Super Mandator operated by Longevin et Cie, still running in 1974. The Mercury, (in Belgium the Monarch), received the same axle “transplant”, and became a very popular 6x2 conversion base. Lots of these lorries were still about into the early 80s, a testement to their quality, (and ability to suffer abuse)!!
The Belgian market place was one of the most “open” in Europe, and the world and his wife sold their products there. That with such available choice that the Belgian operator chose AEC shows how good was the product. The Tractor Dealer from whom I have just purchased my new John Deere has in one of his sheds his late fathers “Super Mandator”, (Bollekens cab), and many happy tails to tell of her! There is still a great deal of nostalgia for AEC in Belgian transport circles.
When I used to visit Saviems Swiss Concessionaire, Nubag AG, I once remarked at the number of B Series ERFs that we used to see . Only to be told that it was lucky that Leyland made a mess of the strong ties between Southall, and their Swiss AEC Importer, Emil Frey AG,of Zurich, because otherwise there would have been even more AECs than ERFs, so well did they perform in Switzerland!!!
In France the strong ties developing between AEC and Willeme, where all the heavy range became AEC powered, and there was real potential to develop the synergy between the companys, perhaps even for joint manufacture, but cut short as both marques lacked financial liquidity. The death knell was the Leyland takeover of AEC, and the phasing out of the AEC power units, although Willeme marketed the BMC lighter range as Willeme in France, and had quite some success with them as well.
Sad is it not, an eminently acceptable product, in a market, (Europe), that yet again we failed to realise its potential. Leyland do not seem to come out of this well, they bought, then killed off Brossel in Belgium, and lost market share, made a complete “cod” of the tie up with Hotchkiss in France, (only ever having success many years later with the Rolls Powered Roadtrain in the 80s under Leyland France), which of course was killed off for their own ends by dear old DAF. And it would seem failed to recognise the potential of AECs products, both lorry and Bus on the World stage. Its driven me to drink, I shall away to the Bollinger, Cheerio for now.
