By Chris Dubuque….
Mark Krahn from British Columbia was curious if I knew anything about the manufacturer of the trailer hitch that he installed on his two DS’s. All that was initially known was that two small plastic caps were installed on the ends of the hitch, each with a diamond-shaped logo that had the initials GB. I knew nothing about it, so, I did a bit of sleuthing.
The first round of Googling returned nothing. But I did find the name of a modern trailer hitch equipment company in France. I contacted them and they agreed to ask some of their “old timers” if they knew anything about the GB logo. And they came through! The GB initials stood for the name, Georges Boisnier. So, starting with their clue, I was able to piece together a bit of information.
GEORGES BOISNIER
In 1965, a man named Georges Boisnier started a company in a small village in eastern France that manufactured automotive towing equipment.
I dug up their original address in the village of Thoirette, and sure enough, they are still located at the same site!
Boisnier specialized in making trailer hitch kits, initially just for French cars; Peugeot, Renault, and Citroën. The company grew and soon expanded their product line to offer towing equipment for many European marques. I found that the Boisnier hitch kits typically include the hitch, mounting hardware, and sometimes the wiring harnesses needed for trailer lighting.
These Boisnier hitches were somewhat common on North American DS’s. Apparently, some were installed by dealers before the car delivered, while others were purchased and installed later on, by the owners. As an example, I found that the GB hitch on my personal car was installed by the Citroën dealer in Seattle (Kolar’s) in 1976, four years after the car delivered. These hitches were not factory options and instead were aftermarket items.
There were (at least) two versions of the Boisnier hitch used on DS’s. One version was intended for DS sedans and another version was developed for DS wagons. The wagon version was quite long and low, to allow the lower tailgate to open without interference. The wagon version was pretty famous for mangling your shins as one walked around the back of the car since it stuck out so far.
GDW GROUP
The Boisnier company was absorbed into a larger tow equipment company, named GDW in 2007. What is the GDW Group? GDW is an acronym for the founder’s name followed by the city his company was formed in: GDW = Germain Deconinck from Waregem (Belgium). GDW was formed in 1952.
The GDW Group remains a family-owned business. Over the years, they absorbed several smaller companies, including Boisnier, and now have five production sites in Western Europe. They are a high-tech company that uses advanced technology, including laser cutting and robotic welding to produce high quality towbars and towing accessories.
Despite being absorbed, the Boisnier product line still exists as part of the GDW Group. They still manufacture hitches and have their own catalog (www.boisnier.fr), although the DS hitches are long-gone from their catalog.
MARK KRAHN’S CARS
As Mark was restoring one of these GB trailer hitches, he found a set of instructions tucked down inside one of the square tubes. This particular instruction sheet shows the shin-destroying wagon version. Quite amazing that this piece of paper survived all of these years!
Mark has two Boisnier hitches, one installed on his beautifully restored 1960 wagon and another on his Canadian model 1969 DS21 Pallas. A third is soon to be installed on Greg Long’s 1966 convertible.
My favorite part or this story is that Mark faithfully reproduced the plastic GB caps for the end of the hitch. Mark says that if anyone wants some of these caps, he can print a set for you!
