Tangalakis-Temax

Tangalakis-Temax
Industry Automotive
Founded 1925 (Tournikiotis-Tangalakis), 1934 (Tangalakis), 1965 (Temax)
Headquarters Athens, Greece
Products Buses (until 1963), Fire Trucks
Website http://www.temax.gr/
1955 Tangalakis advertisement, exhibiting one of the "classic" Tangalakis bus models

TEMAX is today the leading Greek manufacturer of fire-fighting vehicles, while under its previous name, Tangalakis, it has been one of the most historic bus manufacturers in that country.

History

There has been more than 100 bus manufacturers in Greece (the vast majority being body manufacturers) but Tangalakis is particularly remembered to this date for its significance and the quality of its products.

Company activity effectively started in 1925, when Petros Tangalakis joined as a partner G. Tournikiotis, a vehicle body manufacturer based in Athens, founded in 1922. The new joint company saw significant growth becoming the largest in its field, producing a variety of vehicles on imported chassis. In 1934 Tangalakis split off creating his own company, which remained the leading Greek vehicle producer for nearly three decades, also briefly venturing into passenger car manufacture. During the Axis occupation of Greece in WWII the factory was put under German control, but vehicle production was resumed in 1945.

The following years were Tangalakis's "Golden Era"; the company (operating two factories in Athens) focused on all-metal bus construction on chassis by Studebaker, Daimler, Volvo and other manufacturers, producing several models remembered to this date (in some of which it introduced extensive chassis modification to accommodate higher loads and/or different vehicle dimensions). The company know-how was undoubtedly enriched through its assembly of Wayne models in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

In 1963, facing strong competition from other bus manufacturing companies in Greece, it ventured into fire-fighting vehicle manufacture mainly on International Harvester chassis (chassis assembled by Tangalakis from SKD kits). In 1965 Tangalakis family, Alexandros Ginis, Fanourios Gyrtatos & Antonis Kalogeropoulos created TEMAX, a new company entirely focused on fire-fighting and other specialty vehicle production, which operates successfully to date. Another branch of the original company, though, has continued business under the Tangalakis name, as importers and distributors of fire-fighting and rescue equipment, vehicle parts etc.


References

External links

Passenger cars (images)

Buses (images)

Fire engines (images)

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