New Flyer

New Flyer Industries Inc.
Public
Traded as TSX: NFI
Grey Market: NFYEF
Industry Transit
Founded 1930 (1930) (as Western Auto and Truck Body Works Ltd)
Founder John Coval
Headquarters Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Area served
 Canada, United States, Latin America, Brazil, Thailand
Key people
 Paul Soubry - CEO
Products Heavy-duty transit buses
Subsidiaries Motor Coach Industries
Slogan Built to Rely On
Website www.newflyer.com

New Flyer Industries Inc. is a bus manufacturer in North America, headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It also has factories in Crookston and St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA.

History

Flyer was founded by John Coval in 1930 as the Western Auto and Truck Body Works Ltd. Reflecting an increased focus on bus manufacturing, it changed its name in 1948 to Western Flyer Coach.

In the 1960s, the company further focused on the urban transit bus market. In 1971, the then-financially struggling Western Flyer was sold to the Manitoba Development Corporation, an agency of the Manitoba government, and renamed Flyer Industries Limited.[1]

On July 15, 1986, Jan den Oudsten, a descendant of the family who created the Dutch company Den Oudsten Bussen BV, purchased Flyer Industries from the Manitoba government, changing its name to New Flyer Industries Limited. Den Oudsten Bussen B.V was a bus manufacturer in its native country, the Netherlands.

New Flyer subsequently introduced North America's first low-floor bus, delivering the D40LF to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1991. Also in 1995, the first ever North American low-floor articulated bus was introduced to Strathcona County Transit of Sherwood Park, Alberta. In 2001, the delivery of 6,300 low-floor buses represented close to half of the North American fleet, confirming New Flyer as the dominant player in the transit bus manufacturing industry in North America, a role previously held by the now defunct Flxible.

In March 2002, New Flyer was acquired by KPS Special Situations Fund in New York. Also in the same year, Mr. den Oudsten retired as CEO of New Flyer Industries Ltd. and has recently been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the American Public Transportation Association.

In 2003, King County Metro of Seattle, WA placed an order for 213 hybrid buses, the largest ever for hybrid buses up to that time.[2] This record was broken when MTA New York ordered 825 hybrid buses of a different company that same year (despite they ordered between 2004 and 2007). On December 15 of the same year, New Flyer announced that Harvest Partners, Inc., a New York-based private equity firm, had entered into definitive agreements to acquire New Flyer Industries Limited, from KPS Special Situations Fund. Lightyear Capital, a New York-based private equity firm, joined Harvest as a co-investor in the transaction. John Marinucci, CEO of New Flyer, said, "This is exciting news for New Flyer" And he went on to say that KPS specializes in turning around struggling businesses and that they typically do not hold assets after the turnaround has been accomplished. And that ever since the KPS purchase, New Flyer had achieved excellent operational and financial performance. He especially praised the employees.

On August 19, 2005, New Flyer announced the closing of an initial public offering in Canada of 20,000 Income Deposit Securities, becoming a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange. That year also saw the introduction of optional redesigned front and rear endcaps for their buses. The new endcaps are an attempt to modernize and streamline the look of their fleet, which is more or less a box on wheels. Also, a new "R" suffix was applied on all units produced with the new endcaps. The redesigned endcaps made their debut with the 2005 E40LFR built for the Vancouver trolleybus system.

Between 2005 and the end of 2009, New Flyer supplied a total of 262 low-floor trolleybuses to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (now known as TransLink), of which 74 were articulated (model E60LFR). The original order, placed in late 2003, was for 188 E40LFR units and 40 E60LFR units.[3] The first E40LFR was delivered in July 2005,[4] and the rest of the 40-foot (12 m) units were delivered between August 2006[5] and September 2007.[6] The first articulated, E60LFR trolleybus arrived in Vancouver in January 2007.[7] TransLink decided to order an additional 34 articulated units, making the total 74, and delivery of the 73 production-series E60LFR units took place between October 2007 and autumn 2009.

Another purchaser of trolleybuses from New Flyer was SEPTA, operator of the Philadelphia trolleybus system. That agency placed an order with New Flyer in February 2006 for 38 E40LFR[8] "trackless trolleys", as trolleybuses are known there. The first vehicle was delivered in June 2007, and the remaining 37 were received by SEPTA during 2008.[9]

In October 2008, New Flyer Industries Canada ULC was named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in Maclean's newsmagazine. Later that month, New Flyer was also named one of Manitoba's Top Employers, which was announced by the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper.[10]

The company converted to a corporate structure from a trust-like structure in October, 2011. In May 2012, New Flyer and Alexander Dennis Limited announced a new joint-venture to design and manufacture medium-duty low-floor bus (or midi bus) for the North American market. New Flyer will handle production and marketing, and Alexander Dennis will handle the engineering and testing.[11] In June 2012 New Flyer, in a joint venture with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the Manitoba Government, Manitoba Hydro and Red River College, unveiled a fully electric battery-powered bus.[12]

Brazilian bus manufacturer Marcopolo S.A. acquired a 19.99% stake of New Flyer on January 23, 2013 for $116-million, the maximum it could acquire without offering to buy out other shareholders.[13] New Flyer purchased Orion's aftermarket parts business from Daimler on March 1, 2013 such as inventory, accounts receivable, license to use proprietary part designs for Orion buses and included certain regulations for $29 million (it also acquired some of Orion's outstanding orders at the time of shutdown). Under the purchase, Daimler has entered into an arrangement to supply the parts to DBNA for customer warranty support.[14] On June 21, 2013, New Flyer Industries announced the acquisition of North American Bus Industries.[15][16] , and on November 10, 2015 it agreed to acquire Motor Coach Industries from KPS Capital Partners, Inc. for $459 million USD, with the deal expected to close by the end of 2016.[17]

Bus models

Each designation is preceded by a letter before the model name, which is given below.

Model designations

Current New Flyer model numbers are composed of a model code, a power source code and the length of the bus. Note that not all possible combinations have been offered.

Model Power Length
M = MiDi
X = Xcelsior		 D = diesel
DE = diesel-electric hybrid
E = battery-electric
H = hydrogen fuel cell
N = compressed natural gas
T = electric trolleybus		 30 = 30 feet (9.1 m)
35 = 35 feet (11 m)
40 = 40 feet (12 m)
60 = 60 feet (18 m) articulated

Current production

Model Length Width Introduced Notes Photo
Xcelsior[18] 35 feet (11 m)
40 feet (12 m)
60 feet (18 m)		 102 inches (2.6 m) 2008-2016
  • 8% weight reduction compared to previous models
XDE40
XDE60
MiDi 30 feet (9.1 m)
35 feet (11 m)		 96 inches (2.4 m) 2013
MD35

Discontinued models

Model Introduced Discontinued Maximum
Seats		 Notes Photo

New Flyer Industries

Power Length Model
C = compressed natural gas
D = diesel
DE = diesel-electric hybrid
E = electric trolleybus
F = fuel cell
GE = gasoline-electric hybrid
H = hybrid diesel-electric
HE = hydrogen hybrid-electric
L = liquefied natural gas		 30 = 30 feet (9.1 m)
35 = 35 feet (11 m)
40 = 40 feet (12 m)
41 = 41 feet (12.5 m)
60 = 60 feet (18 m) articulated		 none = high-floor
HF = high-floor
i = Invero (low-floor)
LF = low-floor
LFA = low-floor advanced
LFR = low-floor restyled
S = suburban high-floor
C40/C40HF
D40/D40HF
L40/L40HF		 1987 1999
D35/D35HF 1988 1997
D60/D60HF
E60/E60HF
Galaxy		 1988 2006
D40S 1988 1994 A suburban version of the D40; manufactured only for GO Transit.
C30LF
D30LF		 1996 2009
C35LF
D35LF
DE35LF
L35LF		 1996 2009 Sold in the United States only.
C40LF
D40LF
DE40LF
F40LF
GE40LF
L40LF		 1991 2013
  • F40LF was a hydrogen fuel cell prototype built in 1996. Last C40LF Purchase was by MTA New York City Transit (2011-2013)
D60LF
DE60LF		 1997 2010 The DE60LF was sold in the United States only.
D45S
Viking		 1998 1999 104 units built for MTAs of Houston, Texas (METRO) and New York City (NYCTA).
D40i
DE40i
Invero		 2001 2007 One of the largest customers was OC Transpo (Ottawa, Ontario). Only a small number of DE40i (hybrid diesel/electric) versions were produced, all for Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (Aspen, Colorado).
DE35LFA
D40LFA
C40LFA
DE40LFA
GE40LFA
D60LFA
DE60LFA		 2005 2010 35LFA available only in DE, 40LFA available only in C, D, DE or GE, 60LFA available only in D or DE versions, for BRT.
C30LFR
DE30LFR		 2005 2014
  • While the C30LFR was ordered by the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, it was never built. The order was cancelled in favor of the XN35.
C35LFR
D35LFR
DE35LFR
GE35LFR		 2005 2014
C40LFR
D40LFR
DE40LFR
E40LFR
GE40LFR
H40LFR
HE40LF
L40LFR		 2005 2014
D60LFR
DE60LFR
E60LFR		 2005 2014
DE41LF 2007 2009 5 units built for the Hamilton Street Railway and 220 units built for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

Flyer Industries Limited

 A and B suffixes denoted update versions.
D700
D700A		 1968 1974 53 Similar in appearance to the Flxible New Look.
E700
E700A		 1968 1973 53 Trolleybus version of the D700/D700A; D700A shells sold to the Toronto Transit Commission (Toronto, Ontario) to reuse components from Canadian Car & Foundry-Brill T48 and T48A trolleybuses.[19]
D800
D800B		 1974 1981 53 Based on the AM General Metropolitan, which itself was an updated version of the D700.[1] Offered in -9635 (96 inches [2.4 m] × 35 feet [11 m]) and -10240 (102 inches [2.6 m] × 40 feet [12 m]) versions.
E800
E800A		 1974 1978 53 Trolleybus version of the D800/D800B. Notable operators of the E800 were the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (Boston, Massachusetts) and San Francisco Municipal Railway (San Francisco, California). The E800A was delivered only to the Hamilton Street Railway (Hamilton, Ontario).
D900 1978 1980 53
D901
D901A		 1980 1986 53 Revised front with rounded corners.
E901A
E902		 1982[20] 1983[20] 53 This trolleybus model was only built for BC Transit (Vancouver, British Columbia). Built initially as model E901A, production continued as model E902, which may be identical (no differences between the E901A and E902 have ever been identified).[21] A total of 245 were built.[20] Eighty E901A and E902 trolleybuses were sold to EPTM (Mendoza, Argentina) in 2008.
D902 1984 1984 53 This model was only built for San Francisco MUNI.
D2001 32 A 30-foot (9.1 m) version of the D900 that was announced but never built.
Western Flyer 1941 1941 Front engine highway coach; no official model name.
T-28 1945 1945 28 highway coach
T-32 1945 1959 32 gasoline engine highway coach
T-36 1950 1955 36 standard highway coach
T36-2L 1955 1955 36 split-level 40-2L body
Canuck 1953 diesel rear engine prototype
P-37 Canuck 1955 37 gasoline rear engine
C-40 1949 1955 40 intercity coach
T-40 1949 1955 40 transit version of the C-40
P-37 Canuck 1955 1958 37 intercity coach
P-41 Canuck 1958 1964 41 diesel rear engine intercity coach
D500 Canuck 1964 1967 37 31 feet (9.4 m) diesel rear engine
D600 Canuck 1967 1968 45 38 feet (12 m) lengthened version of D500
Buda Lo-525 1937 1941? 32 First bus produced by company; sold to Grey Goose Bus Lines (Winnipeg, Manitoba).

Source: New Flyer Industries Inc.

Orion Aftermarket Parts

New Flyer acquired Orion Aftermarket Parts business for the Orion V to Orion VII bus models. New Flyer completed remaining Orion VII orders and are not producing any future Orion buses.

References

  1. 1 2 Stauss, Ed (1988). The Bus World Encyclopedia of Buses. Woodland Hills, CA (USA): Stauss Publications. ISBN 0-9619830-0-0.
  2. ↑ "New Flyer Receives Order for Up To 715 Buses From King County". Welcome to New Flyer!. New Flyer Industries Inc. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  3. ↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 254 (March–April 2004), p. 43. ISSN 0266-7452.
  4. ↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 263 (September–October 2005), p. 117.
  5. ↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 270 (November–December 2006), p. 135.
  6. ↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 277 (January–February 2008), p. 15
  7. ↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 273 (May–June 2007), p. 62.
  8. ↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 267 (May–June 2006), p. 71.
  9. ↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 282 (November–December 2008), p. 140.
  10. ↑ "Reasons for Selection, 2009 Canada's Top 100 Employers Competition".
  11. ↑ Archived May 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ Kusch, Larry. "New Flyer green leader". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
  13. ↑ "Brazilian bus maker loads up stake in New Flyer Industries". The Globe and Mail. 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
  14. ↑ "New Flyer buys Orion parts business of Daimler Bus". The Globe and Mail. 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
  15. ↑ http://www.nabusind.com/news/New_Flyer_Aquires_NABI_Closing_Press_Release.pdf
  16. ↑ http://www.newflyer.com/index/news-app/story.145
  17. ↑ "New Flyer buys Motor Coach Industries for $604M Cdn". CBCNews. November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  18. ↑ New Flyer Xcelsior info
  19. ↑ Sebree, Mac; and Ward, Paul (1974). The Trolley Coach in North America, pp. 329–332. Los Angeles: Interurbans. LCCN 74-20367.
  20. 1 2 3 Murray, Alan (2000). World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. p. 96. ISBN 0-904235-18-1.
  21. ↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 247 (January–February 2003), pp. 17–18.

Further reading

External links

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