Douglas Equipment

Douglas Equipment Limited is an English manufacturer of vehicles that support the aircraft industry such as tugs, tractors etc. The firm is headquartered in the Arle area of Cheltenham, England with manufacturing operations around the world.

Douglas Equipment Limited
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryAirport and aircraft support vehicles
Founded1947
Headquarters
Cheltenham
,
England
Number of employees
120
ParentTextron Inc.
Websitehttp://www.textrongse.com

Established as FL Douglas (Equipment) Limited in 1947 by Frank Leslie Douglas, it today is a brand of Textron Ground Support Equipment Inc.[1]

Frank Douglas had previously been employed by Universal Power Drives (Unipower), which in 1937 introduced a 4x4 timber tractor, an idea he used when he converted war-surplus 95 bhp AEC Matador 4x4 medium artillery tractors as 4x4 timber tractors.[1]

The firm also built a range of industrial tug trucks for trailer haulage in factories, ports and docks loading ships.[1]

The company is most well known for their line of towbarless aircraft pushback tractors.[2]

In 2010 the company received the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the categories of Innovation and International Trade.

In 2015 Textron acquired Douglas Equipment under their Textron Specialized Vehicles business unit.[3] Then in 2016 Douglas Equipment along with Tug Technologies, Premier Deicers, and Safeaero Deicers re-branded together as Textron Ground Support Equipment.[4]

As of November 2020 the Cheltenham site appears closed, all signage has been removed and the site is locked up. There are no press releases regarding a re-location of operations. January 2021 the Douglas site is now up for sale confirming the site has closed.

Even with the Cheltenham site closed the aftermarket side of the business was moved to Ransomes Jacobsen site in Ipswich so the support for the Douglas vehicles in the field can continue.

Official website

References
  1. Ed, Burrows. "Classic Truck: Onwards and upwards". Heritage Commercials. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  2. "Textron GSE - Douglas Equipment Ltd". Aviation Pros. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  3. "Douglas Equipment". The Douslas Archives. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  4. "Douglas Equipment Limited". Aviation Technology. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.


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