Saturday 6 November 2010

Euro Bus Expo 2

I wrote last time about the number of KMB vehicles at the Show demonstrating another fashion of single-deckers for Hong Kong.

There was however a double-decker on the Wrights stand built on Volvo B9 chassis.

Here we can see two quite different but equally senior representatives of the manufacturers – Hakan Karlsson, President and CEO of Volvo Bus Corporation (second left) and William Wright, now aged 83 but still very much the father figure of the business founded by his own father and now known as The Wright Group, together with senior representatives of KMB.

The Wright Group  has made extraordinary progress since it first entered bus production only some 40 years ago. It pioneered what today we call a midibus, was first to the UK market with a proper low-floor single-decker in production and also right at the front in developing hybrid technology for buses.

It also has developed a huge reputation for excellent quality products, great styling, and outstanding customer service. Deservedly, it won the TfL contract for the New Bus for London and soon we will see much more of how it will look.

And at long last the story has been told – Jack Kernohan, now retired, but who served Wrights for 50 years latterly as Sales Director – has written the definitive Wrights story and here at the show we can see the book being launched. (The real book, by the way is not this big!).


More Euro Bus Expo pictures and news across at the Omnibuses blog site (link right).


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