Mike Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Alexander Dennis continues its worldwide expansion: Scottish bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis (ADL) has underlined its global ambitions by buying a major Australian coach producer in a multi-million pound deal. ADL said it was taking 100% control of Sydney-based Custom Coaches. The Australian firm employs more than 400 people at manufacturing sites in New South Wales and South Australia. The deal comes a month after ADL announced a joint venture with a major North American transit bus producer. Custom Coaches has annual sales of around £55m and a 24% share of the Australian bus market. 'Significant step' ADL chief executive Colin Robertson described the Australian deal as "another significant step" in the Falkirk-based firm's strategy of diversifying and growing the business. "It will see our group turnover increase to around £500m per annum - a three-fold multiple in just five years - and position us well to become a major player in the southern hemisphere," he said. "The Custom brand is an icon in the Australian bus body market, having been part of the transport landscape for 50 years. "It has history, heritage and a reputation for quality products and putting customers first." He added: "These are the fundamentals of our business philosophy at ADL and we will build on them as we bid to turn a successful brand into a great Australian business." Strategic alliance In May, ADL announced it had formed a strategic alliance with New Flyer Industries Inc, a leading North American manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses. The joint venture is designed to target the medium-duty, low-floor bus sector in North America and to transform the segment with a range of light-weight, fuel efficient products. Welcoming the news from ADL, Finance Secretary John Swinney said: "Scotland is recognised internationally for its excellence in engineering and it is fantastic news that Alexander Dennis, one of Scotland's leading manufacturers, is establishing new operations in North America and Australia." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted August 12, 2012 Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 Sort of related to this topic: (Saint Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission June 19th 2012 board meeting minutes) Other Business. New Flyer Trip. Mr. Kellen announced that New Flyer will be doing business with a company, Alexander Dennis out of the UK, which is planning to manufacture their lightweight 25’, 30’ and 35’ composite buses in the United States filling a much needed market. Mr. Kellen has been invited to London to participate in a discussion with representatives from both companies about bus specifications such as vehicle, passenger, and driver amenities and maintenance concerns. He will be leaving tonight and all costs will be covered with a scholarship from New Flyer and Alexander Dennis. No idea how much they'll be using said input for modifying their design, but at least it looks like they're trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAX BRT Posted August 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 Definitely related to this topic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAX BRT Posted November 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 Here is another midi bus competitor: The 27.5 foot Vicinity by Grande West. I'm sure the folks in BC know all about this bus already, but I did not. http://www.grandewes...m/vicinity.html http://thenelsonpost.ca/2011/05/13/small-bus-big-change/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Board Admin A. Wong Posted November 3, 2012 Board Admin Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 I wonder how it's doing. It's the only one in Canada. Also made by a Chinese company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAX BRT Posted November 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2012 ADL/New Flyer partnership is mentioned in this article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-20224390 "A further design of midi-bus, taking around 40 passengers, has won more than £20m of orders. That design will, in future, be targeted at the American and Canadian markets, in a partnership being developed with a major Canadian manufacturer." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centralsmt Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 ADL/New Flyer partnership is mentioned in this article: http://www.bbc.co.uk...entral-20224390 "A further design of midi-bus, taking around 40 passengers, has won more than £20m of orders. That design will, in future, be targeted at the American and Canadian markets, in a partnership being developed with a major Canadian manufacturer." Its a left hand drive E200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAX BRT Posted November 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 Its a left hand drive E200 Yeah, and it sounds like it might be a newly redesigned E200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centralsmt Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 Yeah, and it sounds like it might be a newly redesigned E200. think its more likely to be an "Americanised" version as opposed to a redesigned version. I think if its a success you might see a version of the E350 hybrid being produced in North America Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seashore_518203 Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 This sign was posted at the Girardin booth at the Trans-Expo in Quebec City today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAX BRT Posted November 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 This sign was posted at the Girardin booth at the Trans-Expo in Quebec City today. Sweet! Demo to be available April 2013. (off-topic: got any more photos from the expo?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailBus63 Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 This sign was posted at the Girardin booth at the Trans-Expo in Quebec City today. Yeesh - that's ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo19 Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Yeesh - that's ugly. It could be worse. I would hope the bus will be included with a rear door option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 It's essentially an Enviro 200. The image actually looks like they reversed it to make it a North American spec. It will probably have a rear door option, especially for Ontario markets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion VIII Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 April 2013 sounds a whole lot like a debut at OTE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FS1819 Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 The picture of the prototype from Mar13 Buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Board Admin A. Wong Posted February 23, 2013 Board Admin Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 Cool, wonder if we will see those take off where the Thomas SLF was used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion V Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 That looks more Alexander Dennnis than NFI to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armorand Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 So much for the D30LFR prototype sitting in a Winnipeg parking lot. That red bus looks alot better than this Eurotrash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FS1819 Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 That looks more Alexander Dennnis than NFI to me. Isn't this JV in the same format as the ADL-ElDorado E500 partnership? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAX BRT Posted February 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 That looks more Alexander Dennnis than NFI to me. I'd like to see the bus have headlights and front that mimics the Xcelsior! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bus_Medic Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 Agreed. I'm still smarting from being stung by Ultralf's and SLFs. Looks like the same Malibu Stacey "with a new hat". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Board Admin A. Wong Posted February 23, 2013 Board Admin Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 I'd like to see the bus have headlights and front that mimics the Xcelsior!Well it looks like the front piece can be changed fairly "easily", so maybe we will see some NFI resemblance! But yeah otherwise that looks entirely like an Alexander Dennis bus. Windows, wheels, design and everything. The only thing North American about it is the Luminator destination sign... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted February 27, 2013 Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 Well it looks like the front piece can be changed fairly "easily", so maybe we will see some NFI resemblance! But yeah otherwise that looks entirely like an Alexander Dennis bus. Windows, wheels, design and everything. The only thing North American about it is the Luminator destination sign... Agreed! The photo in the magazine shown does say it's a "left-hand-drive Enviro200 prototype" after all, not the final production model. So perhaps NFI will still jazz it up a bit. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAX BRT Posted February 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 That looks more Alexander Dennnis than NFI to me. I think New Flyer has been clear that the midi bus will be the same one that Alexander Dennis has designed and sold all over the world, only NFI will build it to North American specs. Its not going to be a whole new bus--its going to be an Enviro200 for NA. http://www.newflyer....enture_with_adl "Alexander Dennis has a world-class midi bus that is modern, quiet, fuel efficient and provides the best value for our customers." (Paul Soubry, New Flyer’s President and Chief Executive Officer) Still, we can hope that there will be some cosmetic changes or other interesting tweaks. I'd like it to have a look that says NFI. I really hope the quality is good, obviously some here have strong feelings that European buses are inferior, but lets wait and see. ADL sells a lot of buses to a lot of buyers and I believe they get a lot of repeat business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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