SPA Truck Company (S-P-A) was a manufacturer of trucks, which was owned and operated by

Studebaker Corporation Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Ma ...

and its wholly owned subsidiary,

Pierce-Arrow The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. The name SPA was based on Studebaker, Pierce and Arrow. SPA manufactured trucks from 1929 to 1933. While the Studebaker industrial fortune had been made by building Conestoga wagons, Studebaker had been late in entering the modern truck market, doing so in 1929. While Studebaker plants were running at near capacity, executives planned on using Pierce-Arrow's unused excess capacity to handle truck production demand. Studebaker attempted to acquire

White Motor Company The White Motor Company was an American automobile, truck, bus and agricultural tractor manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the comp ...

in 1932, a known manufacturer of heavy duty trucks based in Cleveland, Ohio. White backed out of the deal just before March 1933; Studebaker then sold Pierce Arrow to investors, which were forced into bankruptcy and

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistr ...

the firm in 1938. When Studebaker filed for

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in c ...

in March 1933, SPA was liquidated and Studebaker focused its attention on automobiles, producing a modest volume of trucks until the late 1930s.

External links

1932 Pierce Arrow Tanker
SPA Truck Defunct truck manufacturers of the United States {{truck-stub