In 1957, the Thomas Saf-T-Liner name made its first appearance, denoting updated bus bodies (with an enlarged two-piece windshield). Thomas Built Buses Home / Product Lines / Thomas Built Buses. From North Carolina, bodies were shipped to South America in CKD form for final assembly on locally sourced chassis.[2]. Thomas Built Buses. In 1930, Thomas Car Works was reincorporated as a stock company, with Perley Thomas making his family stockholders in Perley A. Thomas Car Works, Inc.[2] For the last time, the company received an order for streetcars, producing 4 for Mobile, Alabama. At the smaller end of the size scale, the Saf-T-Liner body was resized to produce the Mighty Mite, a narrow-body school bus on a shorter-wheelbase conventional chassis.[5]. Following the closure of streetcar manufacturer Southern Car Company, Perley A. Thomas (trained as a woodworker and engineer) founded a company specializing in fireplace mantles and home furnishings. Alongside diesel-fueled vehicles, dependent on product line, Thomas buses are also offered with alternative-fuel options, including propane, CNG, gasoline, and fully electric powertrains. At the end of 1998 production, Navistar ended its chassis production for the Vista; as the Vista body was developed solely for its chassis, Thomas discontinued the model line. We are a full-line supplier, whose Mercedes-Benz, Setra, and BharatBenz brands cover every requirement in the bus segment. Thomas Built Buses & Detroit Introduce Extended Warranties For DD5 & DD8 Engine Aftertreatment Systems Thomas Built President and CEO Caley Edgerly says the company’s aftertreatment systems’ variable cam phasing feature is “one-of-a … [2] In return, Odyssey Group received a stake in the company (remaining under full family control). [2] In what is a long tradition that continues to the present day, Thomas remains the primary supplier of school buses to North Carolina. 175 talking about this. Thomas Built Buses, Inc. is a bus manufacturer based in High Point, North Carolina, United States and a subsidiary of the German Daimler AG. Compare pay for popular roles and read about the team’s work-life balance. The ER and WestCoastER were given a much larger windshield, redesigned drivers' compartment, and saw the introduction of several new diesel engines. After nearly 35 years of production of the Saf-T-Liner Conventional body; the 62,764th and final example on the FS-65 chassis was produced on December 13, 2006.[19]. In 2005, company founder Perley Thomas became one of the first inductees (posthumously) of the North Carolina Transportation Hall of Fame in Raleigh, North Carolina. Headquartered in High Point, North Carolina since 1916, Thomas has been a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America (the parent company of Freightliner) since 1998. Buses | Daimler > Products > Buses > Thomas Built Buses. Replaced All-Star in 1995; built on Thomas chassis. For 2009, Thomas launched a second model line of small buses. In the early 1970s, Thomas underwent a number of major transitions in company leadership and market positioning. [24], In 2011, the High Point facilities of Thomas Built Buses achieved Zero-Waste-to-Landfill status in its vehicle production. [2], During the decade, Thomas Car Works began exports of its product lines, establishing satellite facilities in Ecuador and Peru. Thomas Built Buses is a manufacturer of school bus bodies in cutaway van (Minotour), conventional (Saf-T-Liner C2), and transit-style (Saf-T-Liner EFX/HDX) configurations. Continuous improvement and dedication to building the most reliable and safest vehicles are part of our culture. During the later 1990s, Thomas Built Buses would undergo a number of significant changes, with some that have changed the future of school bus manufacturing. In 2004, the Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 made its debut, marking the first completely new bus body from Thomas since 1972. By 1996, Thomas had become the largest school bus manufacturer in the United States (by market share). At the beginning of the 2000s, Thomas began to introduce its most extensive updates to its product lines since the 1970s. The Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley (deriving its name from the unit of energy) is scheduled to enter full production during 2020.[26][27]. Along with acquiring the rights to the Ford heavy-truck line (and Ford Cargo) in 1997 (continued as Sterling Trucks), Freightliner acquired Thomas alongside the chassis production of Oshkosh Corporation (1995), American LaFrance (1996). Coinciding with a design update, Thomas introduced a company-sourced chassis, along with the front-engine Saf-T-Liner EF. Best known for its production of yellow school buses, Thomas produces other bus designs for a variety of usages; currently, its production is concentrated on school buses and activity buses and their commercial derivatives. Following the addition of safety upgrades to comply with safety mandates in 1977, the Saf-T-Liner body saw use in the Conventional through the end of 2006; in modified form, it remains in use with the EFX and HDX (and resized to fit the Minotour). Founded in 1916 as Perley A. Thomas Car Works, the company was renamed in 1972 to better represent its primary product lines. [2], 1918 marked several milestones for the company, as Thomas Car Works began production of brand-new streetcars; 25 were produced. Someo… https://t.co/2NTq1pUJqr, How to (Economically) Electrify Your Fleet, Navigating the Rise of Utility Provider Interest in Electric School Buses, Mitigate Collisions With the WABCO OnGuardACTIVE System. (1) Non-U.S. based parent company that owns subsidiaries headquartered in U.S. (2) Company still exists but is no longer in the automotive manufacturing business, This page was last edited on 28 April 2021, at 08:19. For 2001, the Saf-T-Liner HD was introduced (combining the Saf-T-Liner ER, WestCoastER, and the MVP ER). Saf-T-Liner FS-65 is one product of the Freightliner purchase of Thomas in 1998. Sold only in 84 and 90-passenger configurations, the WestCoastER used heavier-duty driveline and suspension components; tandem rear axles were offered as an option. Along with a shorter hood and redesigned windshield, the engine and front axle were repositioned. This company was founded by Perley A. Thomas. Alongside the small Minotour, Thomas introduced the WestCoastER, a heavy-duty variant of the Saf-T-Liner ER marketed against Crown Supercoach and Gillig Phantom school buses. Replaced by Saf-T-Liner HD (later HDX) for 2001. Name reintroduced in 2007 as part of MVP redesign, replaced by EFX. The history of Thomas Built Buses reads much like the history of modern mass transportation. The oldest surviving bus manufacturer in North America, Thomas Built Buses traces its roots to 1916. Detroit Diesel DD5 & DD8. Privacy Statement, Legal Notices and Terms. To better compete with the Blue Bird TC/2000 and Ward Senator (which became the AmTran Genesis), Thomas replaced the Saf-T-Liner EF with the All Star, using an Oshkosh-produced chassis. The Saf-T-Liner C2e hybrid diesel-electric school bus (introduced in 2007) met with little success, leading to its withdrawal in 2013; instead, the company invested in its alternative-fuel product lines. As rationing had placed increased demands on public transportation, the upkeep of existing equipment was considered a priority. [2], Following the collapse of its primary source of revenue, Thomas Car Works diversified its work, expanding into automotive refinishing and construction of bus and truck bodies. In contrast to the Saf-T-Liner Conventional, the C2 is designed with a larger, sloped windshield, larger windows and exits, and different body construction. Founded in 1916, Thomas Built Buses is a leading manufacturer of school buses in North America. Daimler Trucks North America LLC (Freightliner), Thomas sold commercial derivatives of the Minotour, Conventional, Vista, along with the following:[28], CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (, Learn how and when to remove this template message, North Carolina Transportation Hall of Fame, "Thomas school bus history,Perley A. Thomas Car Works, Thomas Built Buses, Thomas Built Buses div. Only in Thomas Built Buses. In line with other body manufacturers (Carpenter, Superior, Ward, and Wayne), Thomas was dependent on a second-party manufacturer for rear-engine chassis (using Ford, Dodge, GMC, International Harvester and Volvo). To aid forward visibility, the Vista mounted the driver's seat alongside the engine rather than behind it, similar to a Type D bus. During 1917, the company renovated 9 streetcars for the United States Navy in Mobile, Alabama, and for the city of Montgomery, Alabama. As a design change, the "T-bus" roof emblem (used since the early 1980s) was replaced by a scripted Thomas Built Buses emblem (its predecessor). [2][3] Following the fire, Perley Thomas secured a $100,000 advance from NOPSI, rebuilding the factory and securing parts to build 55 more streetcars; 25 more were completed by the end of 1923 (bringing the total produced to 105).[2]. Distinguished by previous Saf-T-Liner EF by much larger windshield and dual headlights (rather than four). [2] Following the departure of Wayne Wheeled Vehicles from the manufacturing segment, Thomas became the largest manufacturer, holding a 34% market share in 1996. * The figures are provided in accordance with the German regulation 'PKW-EnVKV' and apply to the German market only. In 2001, following the closure of Carpenter, the number of body manufacturers had declined from seven to three in ten years; AmTran would rebrand itself (twice, in less than two years). For 1934, the company produced 10 transit buses for South Carolina-based Duke Power. Distinguished from MVP EF by having Thomas emblem above grille (rather than centered). In contrast to a standard conventional bus, the driver of the Vista sat beside the engine (rather than behind it). Thomas Built Buses' FB Page is a place where Thomas bus... Jump to. With the introduction of the EF, Thomas became the first school bus manufacturer to produce its own chassis for both front and rear-engine school buses, ahead of Blue Bird by a decade (California manufacturers Crown Coach and Gillig Corporation had not produced a front-engine school bus since before World War II). In late 2019, Thomas entered into a joint venture with Trans Tech to jointly develop a small school bus. 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