New Flyer Industries

New Flyer Industries Inc.

Type	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 North American Bus Industries(NABI)
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, United States.

History

Flyer was founded by John Coval in 1910 as the Western Auto and Truck Body Works Ltd. Reflecting an increased focus on bus manufacturing, it changed its name in 1928 to Western Flyer Auto.

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 City. 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 first large order for hybrid buses.^[2] 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]

As competing manufacturer Daimler exited the North American market, New Flyer purchased the aftermarket parts business for it's Orion brand of heavy-duty transit buses for $29 million.^[14] New Flyer also agreed to take on two outstanding bus manufacturing contracts for New York City Transit and the other for King County Metro in Seattle (giving New Flyer a total of 194 firm bus orders and options for an additional 291 buses). Under the agreement, New Flyer acquired the Orion parts inventory, the company's accounts, license to use proprietary part designs and agreed to provide parts for customer warranty support.

On June 21, 2013, New Flyer Industries announced the acquisition of competing manufacturer North American Bus Industries (NABI).^[15][16] Upon completion of outstanding orders for heavy-duty buses, New Flyer converted NABI's Anniston, AL factory into a fourth facility to produce the Xcelcior heavy-duty transit bus.

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]

On September 22, 2016, New Flyer announced that Marcopolo S.A. had reduced its holding to 6,587,834 common shares, which was about 10.8% of the outstanding shares. The company said Marcopolo remained its largest shareholder.

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.

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	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	Built under license from British manufacturer Alexander Dennis, which markets the bus in Europe and Asia as the Enviro200.	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		The E60 was only built from 1992 to 1994 for the San Francisco Municipal Railway.
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. Only 42 Examples of the GE40LFA were built, all for Long Beach Transit (Long Beach, California).
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		HE40LF was a hydrogen-electric hybrid demo built in 2006 for SunLine Transit Agency.
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.

Facilities

Manufacturing Facilities

New Flyer operates four facilities where new transit buses are manufactured.

• Winnipeg, MB
• Crookston, MN
• St. Cloud, MN
• Anniston, AL

Parts Distribution Centers

New Flyer operates five facilities that distribute parts to customers. Some of these parts are built by New Flyer and some are OEM parts, built by other companies. The centers are geographically spread out to offer ground delivery service within two-days to all of the US and Canada.^[22] These facilities also provide parts for both Orion and NABI buses, after New Flyer purchased NABI and acquired the Orion parts business from Daimler in 2013.^[23]

• Winnipeg, MB
• Brampton, ON
• Hebron, KY
• Fresno, CA
• Delaware, OH

Bus Component Fabrication

New Flyer operates two facilities that fabricate the components used to build buses. TCB Industries is a wholly owned subsidiary that makes components for both New Flyer and other manufacturers.^[24]

• Winnipeg, MB
• TCB Industries – Elkhart, IN

Service Centers

New Flyer service centers are typically located in regions with the companies biggest customers. For these customers, New Flyer performs final assembly, pre-delivery inspection, acceptance, and training services for new buses. The Arnprior center also offers maintenance services for any make and model, including mid-life overhauls and collision repair.^[25]

• Arnprior, ON
• Ontario, CA
• Renton, WA

References

Further reading

• http://www.newflyer.com/index/news-app/story.47
• http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/news/2007/0516bus.aspx

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Flyer buses.

• Official website

Automotive industry in Canada
Automotive industry Economy of Canada Transport in Canada
Active manufacturers	Cambli International CAMI Canadian Electric Vehicles Conquest Vehicles Inc. Dupont Dynesty Electric Vehicles Girardin Minibus HTT Automotive Lion Bus New Flyer Prévost Nova Bus TAV Timmis T-Rex Vehicles Inc.
Defunct manufacturers	Acadian McLaughlin Orion International Russell
Components	Electrovaya Fountain Tire Linamar Magna International Multimatic
Subsidiaries of foreign companies	BYD Auto Canada Chrysler Canada Ford Canada General Motors Canada Honda Canada Toyota Canada
Related topics	Canadian International AutoShow Montreal International Auto Show Trans-Canada Highway Transport Canada Transportation Safety Board of Canada