ERF was founded in 1933 as a competitor to Foden Trucks who were already building in Sandbach, Cheshire. Dennis Foden launched ERF using the name of his father 'Edwin Richard Foden' who had left Foden Trucks about two years earlier after a boardroom row. The story is often told that the Foden family fell out over the issue of steam versus diesel, but in fact Foden had built a diesel as early as 1931 and switched to diesel in 1934. Nevertheless, ERF foden exhibited their first truck at the 1933 Commercial Motor Show and grew a strong brand loyalty for their robust trucks. At this time most trucks were assemblages of components; bought in engines, gearboxes, axles, even shared cabs; it was relatively easy for Dennis Foden to bolt together some of the best components available to create his ERF trucks. Coachbuilder JH Jennings in Sandbach had facilitated the construction of the first ERF trucks at his premises, and later ERF built a specialist fire engine chassis bodied by Jennings whose Fire Engine business later became Saxon.