LAS VEGAS. Phillips Industries used Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week as the start of a yearlong celebration marking its 90th year in business.
Rob Phillips, president and chief operating officer, said 2017 had ended on a high note with the company winning a contract with Daimler AG to provide electrical/trailer cables for Mercedes-Benz trucks in Europe.
Phillips is the fourth generation of the family to lead the company, which was founded by H.W. Phillips in 1928, the year before the stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression.
In 1936, Phillips designed and patented the first reflective directional signal arm for trucks. It was one of several pieces of memorabilia the company displayed at its HDAW booth.
A replica of an early version of Phillips' reflective signal arms was on display in the exhibit hall. (Photo: Neil Abt/Fleet Owner)
Today, Phillips has more than 1,000 employees and operates manufacturing facilities in California, Mexico, and China. It manufactures and distributes over 8,000 products in more than 40 countries.Every truck and more than half of all trailers manufactured in North America have Phillips products on it, the company said.
During 2017, the company started the Phillips Connect Technologies division to become more involved in connected technologies.
