Wrightbus

#FleetFriday | Volgren #Hydrogen Bus | Wrightbus powertrain Volgren has taken a major step forward in sustainable transport with the construction of Australia’s first hydrogen-powered bus, in collaboration with Wrightbus. Volgren's first hydrogen bus with Wrightbus is expected to enter service soon, with a second already in production. As the first hydrogen fuel cell electric buses to operate in Australia, they represent an important step in the transition to cleaner public transport.   “This project demonstrates the strength of Australia’s local manufacturing sector and the value of collaboration. Working with Wrightbus has allowed us to produce a hydrogen bus that not only sets new standards in sustainability but also contributes to the local economy through job creation and skills development.” Volgren CEO Thiago Deiro The vehicles, which will be powered by Wrightbus NexGen hydrogen fuel cell powertrains, marks the first time that Wrightbus has had its advanced powertrain technology used by an Australian manufacturer. Wrightbus CEO Jean-Marc Gales says this is the first time the company has entered into the Australian market and is a significant partnership for both parties. “Like Wrightbus, Volgren is an industry leader with innovation at its heart. We’re proud to be working alongside them on this pilot project to utilise hydrogen to help decarbonise the public transport system in Australia” The partnership with Volgren is evidence of Wrightbus’s continued growth across the globe and we are very proud to be working alongside likeminded innovators to help decarbonise the public transport system in Australia. Congratulations to all at Volgren, we look forward to continuing the drive to a greener future together. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eXh7wGCf #Wrightbus #Volgren #DrivingAGreenerFuture #HydrogenFuelCell #HydrogenBus #Powertrain #NetZeroAustralia

It is always lovely to welcome guests to Wrightbus, but we love nothing more than when our local primary schools stop by! Our young visitors bring with them bags of questions and even more enthusiasm as they tour the factory and witness all the stages of a zero-emission bus build.    Last week St Colmcille's Primary School and Carniny Primary School, as part of 'Shared Education', visited to find out about how buses are built, who picks the colours, why our newest buses have lots of batteries, how long it all takes and how many different types of jobs there are to do here! We loved answering all their questions and telling them how our Ballymena factory is working hard to build buses that are helping to provide cleaner more breathable air and a healthier world for us all.   ‘Who can get the most waves’ proved to be great fun, and our teams were all more than happy to take a second to say hello! Some of the kids even spotted family members on their trip around our production lines.   It is a privilege to be able to inspire and educate our young people, and we are so proud to be able to show them the world leading work in decarbonisation that is being done in our factory, right on their doorstep. Our passion to drive a greener future is for this generation and those that will follow and we know when the youngest of children have such a fantastic understanding of why we need to care for our planet, then the future is in good hands. Perhaps we will one day welcome some of these young students back as the next leading minds in engineering, manufacturing, and leadership!   Our thanks to the pupils and staff of St Colmcille’s Primary School and Carniny Primary School, and to our Performance & Development team who always do such a fantastic job organising, facilitating and hosting these visits. Education Authority (Northern Ireland)   #Wrightbus #DrivingAGreenerFuture #NextGeneration #EducationalVisits #InnovationAndEducation #LocalSchools #ThankYouThursday

The Wrightbus team of field service engineers are strategically positioned across the UK and Ireland, providing comprehensive support to bus fleets and operators from our regional AllServiceOne bases in Ballymena and Bicester. With an impressive in-service performance record exceeding 98%, we take great pride in the exceptional uptime our customers enjoy. Our commitment to continuous improvement ensures we consistently deliver unrivalled support, helping you achieve operational excellence. In addition to direct support, we offer technical training for depot staff, equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary to maintain high levels of service and reliability. Investing in technical training empowers employees with the skills they need to excel, boosting their confidence, improving job performance, and increasing job satisfaction. All of this leads to unbeatable levels of uptime, ensuring that passenger commutes remain as seamless as the operation of your fleet. #Wrightbus #DrivingAGreenerFuture #AllServiceOne #FleetSupport #Uptime

Wrightbus Apprentice Hannah Currie recently spoke at the Women in Bus and Coach 2024 annual summit, which was aimed at encouraging and retaining women in the profession. Hannah was part of a panel of young engineers who shared their experiences of working in a male-dominated sector. The event attended by the Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood, who reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring the brightest minds in the industry are in the driving seat to help the #WomenInBusAndCoach initiative to achieve its aims. Hannah’s message? “Just go for it. If you don’t try it, you’ll never know. I’ve always found being a female in a male-dominated environment makes me more driven and out to prove I can do it. If you want to go far with a company like Wrightbus, there are so many opportunities there to progress even further… They’re always one step ahead when it comes to the building of buses and that’s why they’re expanding so much.” Wrightbus CEO Jean-Marc Gales shared, “We remain committed to breaking barriers and creating opportunities for women, and it was great to see Hannah speak so positively about her experience of being a part of our apprenticeship programme” Wrightbus apprenticeships offer excellent opportunities for both male and female candidates who are ready to kick-start their careers while gaining recognised qualifications, invaluable work experience and earning as they learn. If you are interested in finding out more about our apprenticeship opportunities, please email: pd@wrightbus.com or visit wrightbus.com #Wrightbus #DrivingAGreenerFuture #WomenInBusAndCoach #Apprenticeships #EngineeringApprenticeships #WiBCSummit2024 #WomenInTransport Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom

“The factory is an incredible place to be at the moment” 2024 is proving to be a pivotal year for Wrightbus as we continue to hit new landmarks. New data released shows Wrightbus continues to lead the UK’s bus sector with a staggering 40% market share, delivering 22 buses a week to operators throughout 2024 with a record-breaking 142 buses rolled off the production line in August alone. “We are selling in the UK, so we believe in supporting the UK economy. Our ecosystem includes suppliers from 47 counties across the United Kingdom, generating thousands of jobs and millions of pounds in revenue for businesses producing everything from heating systems and powertrains to laser cutting and fabrication. We all share in this success.” Jean-Marc Gales Last week saw the announcement of a landmark order with The Go-Ahead Group , the largest in our 78-year history, will see hundreds of Go-Ahead buses built a year for the next three years at our Ballymena headquarters – safeguarding 500 good green jobs and creating multiple training and up-skilling opportunities. In Q4, the Wrightbus growth story, and our determination to lead the way in the drive to a greener future is stronger than ever.   Read more on this growth story: https://lnkd.in/eS4xdtyr #Wrightbus #DrivingAGreenerFuture #CompanyGrowth #UKManufacturer #BusBuild #ZeroEmissions #HydrogenBus #ElectricBus #GreenTech #GreenJobs #UKEconomy

We couldn’t end this week without featuring & celebrating The Go-Ahead Group Wrightbus #StreetDeck and GB Kite #Electroliner and #Hydroliner buses that already in service with the group across the UK.   These state-of-the-art vehicles come with an array of features to enhance both customer accessibility, comfort and safety including induction loop systems, wheelchair and pushchair spaces, and audio-visual next stop announcement systems along with USB charging points and high back seats.   These double and single deck buses share up to 86% commonality, reducing costs for the operator. They are built in Northern Ireland, with 48% of suppliers from 47 UK counties, supporting local business and local green jobs.

As well as improving air quality for commuters and providing a cleaner, quieter method of transport, these buses will make journeys more accessible and more comfortable for passengers. 
The Go-Ahead Group ’s status as one of the world’s largest operators of electric vehicles was officially crowned recently at the 2024 UK Green Business Awards with the company winning the ‘Transport Project of the Year’ award for creating an all-electric bus city in Oxford, focused on the innovative project led by Go-Ahead’s subsidiary, Oxford Bus Company   Once again, we are delighted by this week’s landmark order announcement and look forward to continuing this exciting partnership with the group as we accelerate the drive to a greener future together.   Read about the new order: https://lnkd.in/e8wFAP4N   #Wrightbus #DrivingAGreenerFuture #TheGoAheadGroup #ElectricBus #HydrogenBus #Decarbonisation

It has been fantastic to see Jon Eardley take up his post recently as Managing Director for Aftersales & Telematics at Wrightbus and AllServiceOne Jon has incredible industry pedigree, with almost 30 years’ experience at a variety of bus and coach businesses across the UK and was a finalist this week in the Women in Bus and Coach - Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill #AllyshipAward 2024, sponsored by The Go-Ahead Group . This category honoured those who are actively driving positive change and championing equality across the industry! Jon has previously shared his excitement at joining the company, as we continue to lead the way in the decarbonisation of public transport: “I’ve spent many years operating buses and coaches across the UK which will allow me to ensure that the needs of our customers remain at the centre of all that Wrightbus does, maintaining trusted and long-lasting partnerships with them from the first mile to the last mile. I can’t wait to get started.” We are thrilled to see Jon start his role and as we continue to enjoy fantastic growth and record orders. We know that his experience and wealth of knowledge along with deep understanding of our customer’s needs, will help further cement Wrightbus’ and AllServiceOne’s place as market leader in zero-emissions public transport. #Wrightbus #AllServiceOne #DrivingAGreenerFuture #FleetSupport #Telematics #PartsAndService

With the momentous news that Wrightbus has signed the largest deal in our history which will see our company build more than 1,000 buses (worth up to half a billion pounds) for The Go-Ahead Group , our CEO Jean-Marc Gales, has shared his thoughts on the announcement.   Here he reflects on what the deal means for our Northern Ireland factory, UK supply chain and the drive to a greener future for us all.   Read the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/e8wFAP4N   #Wrightbus #GoAhead #DfT #DrivingAGreenerFuture #LandmarkDeal #ZeroEmissions #NetZero #PublicTransport #CEO Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom

The Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh MP, met with Wrightbus Chairman Jo Bamford, our CEO Jean-Marc Gales, The Go-Ahead Group Bus CEO Matthew Carney and senior members of the Wrightbus and Go-Ahead Group teams, as the landmark deal between our two companies was announced. The Secretary of State once again highlighted the government’s commitment to supporting UK manufacturing, securing local jobs and accelerating the decarbonisation of public transport. The event took place in The Go-Ahead Group Oxford Bus Company depot on the Crawley Road, where the group where able to view many of the existing Wrightbus zero emission buses already in service and met with depot staff and Go-Ahead apprentices, who will also benefit directly from the deal. With 90% of the order zero-emission, the deal represents a huge boost to the UK’s net zero goals and the Government’s Decarbonisation Transport Plan, which is committed to supplying 4,000 new zero-emission buses in the UK. Yesterday was been a fantastic day for everyone involved and we look forward to sharing more on this momentous occasion! https://lnkd.in/e8wFAP4N #Wrightbus #DrivingAGreenerFuture #TheGoAheadGroup #GoAhead #Decarbonisation #ZeroEmissions #LandmarkDeal Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom

We are thrilled to share the momentous news that Wrightbus has signed a landmark deal - worth up to half-a-billion pounds - to supply more than 1,000 buses to operators The Go-Ahead Group over the next three years. The deal, which is the largest in our 78-year history, will see hundreds of Go-Ahead buses built a year for the next three years at our Ballymena headquarters – safeguarding 500 good green jobs and creating multiple training and up-skilling opportunities. This will not only secure jobs here at Wrightbus but will support an additional 1,500 across the UK supply chain. Our CEO, Jean-Marc Gales, shared his excitement about the historic deal: “This deal with Go-Ahead is hugely significant not just for Wrightbus and for Ballymena, but for the rest of the United Kingdom. It’s a momentous occasion and one we’re delighted to be sharing it with our partners Go-Ahead.” Matthew Carney, CEO of Go-Ahead Bus, said: "This multi-million-pound investment and partnership with Wrightbus will accelerate the transition to zero-emission fleet across the UK. We are proud to be working in partnership with the UK Government and local authorities to deliver transformational environmental change for communities, while supporting UK jobs and the growth of the country's supply chain." Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh MP commented on the significance of the deal reaffirming the Government’s commitment to decarbonising local transport: “This announcement will see communities across the country benefit from brand new, state of the art green buses - which will deliver cleaner air and better journeys. We’re creating the right conditions for businesses to flourish, so we can support jobs and accelerate towards decarbonising the transport sector.” ➡️ Read more on the details of this deal, including full reactions from Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, Matt Carney and Jean-Marc Gales: https://lnkd.in/e8wFAP4N #Wrightbus #GoAhead #DfT #DrivingAGreenerFuture #LandmarkDeal #ZeroEmissions #NetZero #PublicTransport