Sterling Truck Parts

A Brief History of Sterling Trucks

Now defunct, Sterling Trucks Corporation once manufactured medium and heavy duty vehicles, cabs, chassis, and trucks, such as fire trucks, dump trucks, and commercial vehicles. The company existed for over 100 years and was owned by Daimler AG prior to its discontinuation.

The predecessor to Sterling was founded by William Sternberg in 1907 and was called the Sternberg Motor Truck Company. It produced many trucks with a cab-over design. The name later changed to Sterling in 1916 as World War I approached, and continued to produce many heavy duty and commercial vehicles. Street cleaners, military vehicles, etc. were all products of Sterling, and it produced its first one ton truck in 1928.

Sterling made a series of purchases over the years, such as the Fageol Truck and Coach Company, that helped the company expand its presence to other parts of the country like California. It also contributed to the American war effort during World War II by building trucks and tractors for the military.

By 1951, the White Motor Co. purchased Sterling and later retired the nameplate in 1953. Eventually, Freightliner obtained the Sterling nameplate after its agreement allowing White Motors’ to distribute Freightliner trucks ended with the dissolution of the White Motor Co. Freightliner, owned by Daimler, later resurrected the nameplate in 1997. Since then, class 8 tractors and cabs/chassis for medium and heavy duty vehicles were produced, such as the Sterling 360 truck and the Sterling Bullet truck. Daimler AG discontinued the brand in 2008.