Edwin Peter Foden CBE, the former chairman of ERF Trucks and chief executive of ERF Holdings, has died.
Born in Blackpool on 24th February 1930, he was the last of the Cheshire family dynasty of Fodens to be actively involved with the truck industry.
Under him, ERF Trucks grew from being a family business into a major force in the British truck industry.
The son of Edwin Richard Foden, one of the founders of ERF and whose initials were incorporated into the company’s name, Peter Foden originally joined the firm after the war as an apprentice.
He became a director of ERF at 20 after the death of his father in 1950. Following the unexpected death of the then MD Dennis Foden in 1960, Peter Foden took control of ERF.
In 1996, ERF Trucks was sold to Western Star of Canada and on 31 December Peter Foden retired from his position as chairman and chief executive of ERF Holdings. Later MAN bought the firms assets and the ERF name was retired in 2006.
Peter Foden is survived by his sons Simon, Paul and Richard. See next week’s CM (12 July) for a commemoration of the “pragmatic entrepreneur”.