"We never really intended to have a museum," said Bob. "We really just ended up with some stuff and my son Greg had a passion for it and one truck led to two, which led to four, that led to eight and pretty soon we had to have a place to put it, we were fortunate to pick this building up and remodel it to house our collection."
The Nuss Collection Building America, which opened in 2021, houses trucks and vehicles starting from the early 1900s that have been restored by the Nuss family. Bob recalls having visitors all the way from Luxembourg come to admire the museum.
One notable museum piece is a 1933 Mack CJ with serial number 1001 adorning the floor of the museum, the first truck in production that included the Mack bulldog and it was showcased at the World's Fair in 1934.
Bob notes that his favorite addition is probably the 1926 Mack AP that took Nuss 18 months to restore. He also highlights a photo that hangs on the museum wall showcasing a Russian airplane loading up four Mack trucks. According to Nuss, the airplane was four feet too short to hold all four trucks so Bob helped navigate a solution to angle park all the trucks to fit the plane.
Cascading three decades of evolution in Mack trucks, The Nuss Collection holds a piece of history that will never be forgotten, showcasing items restored. This museum captures Americana of the early 1900s and allows future generations to immerse themselves in one the country's historical keepsakes of the trucking industry, not only letting visitors experience the history of trucks themselves, but of the Mack company. This year, Mack trucks have hit an important milestone, celebrating their 125th anniversary.
Bob Nuss recalls how his family's history with Mack trucks first began, starting with a sale in his father's Mack Truck dealership.
Standing in his bib overalls at the counter of the local Mack dealership, Charles Ind signed the check for a new truck for his construction company. This truck would be the first of many new Mack trucks sold by Bob Nuss' father, Charles Nuss, and a core memory for Bob that stuck with him frozen in time. Later he would receive the original chassis build record from a family friend and customer to time stamp the moment in history forever.
For Bob Nuss with Nuss Truck and Equipment, knowledge of Mack trucks and the fleet industry has been a staple of his family since 1923; starting with Charles, who became a Mack dealer in 1959.
In high school, Bob worked in the parts department of his father's shop and after college, he decided to return to his roots in Rockford and rejoin the family business in 1969. In the mid-70s Bob received a job offer to run a dealership branch in Minnesota, he chose to take the position and ended up purchasing the dealership in 1979. The dealership's initial location sat behind a truck stop that burned down in December of 1979, offering Bob an opportunity to buy the property and rebuild.
Since 1983, Nuss Truck and Equipment has steadily expanded its footprint across the region, opening 10 branch locations across Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin to better serve its growing customer base. Over the years, the company has diversified and strengthened its offerings, becoming a trusted Volvo construction dealer and building a reputation for reliability and expertise in the heavy equipment industry. In addition to its business achievements, Nuss has played a leadership role in the trucking community, with the company's representatives serving as the dealer council chairman for Mack Trucks – helping to shape industry standards, foster collaboration, and ensure that customer needs remain at the forefront of innovation and service.
"In 2001, we purchased RDO Truck and Equipment in the Twin Cities, which grew 60 percent in one day," said Bob. "That was interesting since we were a privately held company and they were a publicly traded company, it ended up as a little blurb on the front page of the Wall Street Journal."
For over 65 years, Nuss Truck and Equipment has been providing customers with knowledge of trucks and equipment, while showcasing a dedication to customer service and opportunities to continue passing down the legacy of Mack trucks.
SOURCE Purple Wave Inc
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