Plaxton: Difference between revisions

Plaxton is a bus and coach bodybuilder based in Scarborough, England.

History

The Plaxton of today is the successor to a business founded in Scarborough in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton.

Beginnings

The business was founded as a joinery workshop, and expanded into building contracting. As a building contractor, Plaxton built a number of notable buildings in Scarborough. Soon after World War I Plaxton diversified and bgan to build charabanc bodies on Ford Model T chassis. Of more importance at the time was the construction of automobile bodywork. This included bodwork for Rolls Royce, Sunbeam and Daimler, but was principally for Crossley car chassis.

Plaxton Pointer

With the launch of the Dennis Dart, in 1989, Plaxton's subsidiary Reeve Burgess made the Pointer body, a boxy affair, but with a very modern appearance, on the short 8.5m chassis. Launched in 1991, at 2.25m wide, this efficient bus proved a huge hit with the big transport operators, and they sold in big numbers in London. The modular nature of both chassis and body meant for various permutations in length, with 8.5m, 9.0m and 9.8m variants being manufactured. The Pointer became the most successful midibus body. In 1994 Thamesway (now First Essex Buses) bought the 1000th Plaxton Pointer-bodied Dennis Dart (it was also the 2000th Dennis Dart), registered M934 TEV.

The introduction of the Super Low Floor version of the Dennis Dart in 1995, the Dart SLF, saw the Pointer body redesigned at a 2.5m width, with a step-free entrance, giving easy access for the disabled. The first Dart SLF to appear was also a Thamesway-owned bus - registered N701CPU. Not long after, the body received an all-new front end design, and alterations to the rest of the body - the Pointer 2 was born, and has proved to be just as successful. This was also available in a range of lengths to suit individual needs - 9.3m, 10.1m, 10.7m, 11.3m "Super Pointer Dart" (SPD for short), and after 3 years of production, the 8.8m "Mini Pointer Dart" (MPD).

However for a time Plaxton considered the future of the Pointer is uncertain, since the Mayflower Group which owned Alexander bought out Dennis, it was thought that the Dart may well become solely bodied by Alexander. As a response Plaxton built two bodies on the Volvo B6BLE chassis known as Bus 2000. The project was scrapped as soon as Mayflower took over Plaxton. Parts of Bus 2000 have since been used on other designs, most notably the Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 and Enviro 500.

Henlys and a new beginning

In 1989 Plaxton bought Henlys, a company that included motor dealers and Coleman Milne, makers of funeral hearses. The name of the company was changed to Plaxton Group PLC. In May 1992, the company was renamed Henlys Group PLC.

Henlys pursued a strategy of diversification and expansion through the 1990s. The established bus bodybuilder Northern Counties was bought in 1995 for £10m. The UK bus and coach manufacturing business, trading under the Plaxton brand, continued to produce a range of bus and coach bodywork. It also owned one of the largest UK coach dealers, Kirkby, and provided after-sales services to coach and bus operators.

In August 2000 a joint venture was formed with Mayflower, owners of the Dennis and Alexander brands. The joint venture, known as TransBus International, included only the United Kingdom bus manufacturing operations of both companies, including Plaxton and Northern Counties. Henlys held a 30% stake in the joint venture, which employed 3,300 employees at seven locations. The traditional brands of Alexander, Dennis and Plaxton were replaced by TransBus International. In 2004 Mayflower Group failed, and Transbus International went into receivership. An initial offer from the Plaxton management to buy the coach segment of the company was rejected by the receiver, but was later accepted when a group of private investors agreed to buy the Alexander Dennis portion of the company.

Thus the new company, Plaxton Limited, has reemerged as an independant company, focused on its traditional coach product, and still located in Scarborough.

Products

Current Products

Coaches

• Paragon - for Volvo B10M, B12B, Dennis R-Series, MAN 18.310 and Irisbus Eurorider
• Panther - for Volvo B10M, B12B, Dennis R-Series, MAN 18.310 and Irisbus Eurorider
• Profile - for Volvo B7R and Dennis Javelin chassis
• Cheetah

Buses

• Pronto
• Beaver

Past Products

(All coach bodies unless noted)

• Type A
• D Series
• Type F (full fronted)
• Type J (half cab)
• K Series
• L Series
• M Series
• Q2
• Envoy
• Venturer I, II
• Crusader Mk I, Mk II
• Consort Mk I, Mk II
• Highway - (single deck bus)
• Panorama, I, Elite, Elite II, Elite III
• Embassy
• Derwent - (single deck bus)
• Supreme, Supreme IV, V, VI
• Viewmaster
• Bustler - (single deck bus)
• Paramount 3200, 3500, Mk I, Mk II, Mk III
• Excalibur - for Volvo B10M chassis
• Premiere - for Dennis Lance and Scania K93 chassis
• Prima - for DAF SB3000 chassis
• Prestige - single deck bus based on remodelled Northern Counties design
• President - double-deck bus
• Beaver / Beaver 2 - for Mercedes-Benz van chassis
• Pointer

Competitors

Current

• Van Hool
• Setra
• MAN / Neoplan
• Salvador Caetano (UK) Ltd

Former

• Duple Coachbuilders Limited

See Also

• Henlys Group PLC

References

Townsin, Alan (Editor) (1982). Plaxtons The Great British Coach Builder. Transport Publishing Company. ISBN 903839695

External links

• Plaxton's Official Website