Dennis Eagle Limited is owned by Ros Roca, Europe’s largest refuse collection vehicle manufacturer and the second largest refuse collection vehicle manufacturer in the world. Its history dates back to 1895 when Dennis Brothers was founded in Guildford, England.
Originally specialising in a range of vehicles including buses, coaches and fire engines, as well as cycles and lawn mowers, Dennis Brothers acquired body builder Eagle Engineering, based in Warwick, in 1907. In 1990s, Dennis Eagle became the independent businesses of Dennis Specialist Vehicles. In 1991, the company purchased the remains of its one time arch-rival, Shelvoke and Drewry, after it ceased trading under its owner Dempster Corporation of the United States.
Mayflower Corporation purchased Dennis Specialist Vehicles in October 1998 but sold Dennis Eagle in July 1999. The company has gone from strength to strength and in 2006 was bought by Spanish refuse collection and engineering company Ros Roca.
However, since the GEC of 2008, Ros Roca the parent company (like many other Spanish companies) has experienced financial pressures and is subject to market speculation regarding its future.
Dennis Eagle product launches included the Phoenix 1 body in 1979 and the Elite 1 chassis, the UK’s first low entry cab, in 1992. Further developments have led to the introduction of the Phoenix 2 in 2001 and the 8 x 4 Elite 2 last year.
Today, the company employs a workforce of over 600 across its two manufacturing sites and service network, which includes nine depots as well as mobile engineers based throughout the UK. Body and chassis assembly takes place at the Warwick headquarters, with cabs built at the additional manufacturing facility in Blackpool.
Producing over 1,000 refuse collection vehicles each year, the company also has an international network of distributors.