New Flyer Industries

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New Flyer Industries
Company Type Public (TMX:NFI.UN)
(Grey Market: NFYEF)
Foundation 1930 (as Western Auto and Truck Body Works Ltd)
1986 (current)
Founder John Coval (original)
Jan den Oudsten (current)
Location Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Area Served Canada, United States
Industry Bus manufacturing
Products Transit buses
Homepage www.newflyer.com

New Flyer Industries (formally NFI Group Inc.)[1] is a North American bus manufacturer headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

History

Western Auto and Truck Body Works Ltd was founded by John Coval in 1930 with five employees. In 1945, the company's name became Western Flyer Coach with the name a reference to the model name of their first complete bus built. With increased competition in the intercity coach market, the company focused on the urban transit bus market in the 1960s. They introduced the D700 transit bus in 1967. The following year, they delivered their last intercity coach.[2]

Western Flyer Coach was renamed Flyer Industries Limited in 1971 when the Manitoba Development Corporation, and agency of the government, acquired 74 percent equity—saving the company from financial troubles.[1][2][3]

By 1985, the Manitoba government was looking to divest itself of Flyer Industries. It was anticipated that the manufacturer would have had to cease operation in the near future without a significant investment from the government. An agreement was reached with Den Oudsten Bussen of Holland who would pay $1 million for Flyer Industries's common shares and invest $2,065,000 in the company. The deal closed on July 15, 1986. Flyer Industries changed its name to New Flyer Industries Limited.[1][4]

Under the leadership of Jan den Oudsten New Flyer introduced a new transit bus product range. They also developed North America's first low-floor transit bus, the D40LF, in the late 1980s. The first production models went to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1991.

Following operational and financial difficulties, KPS Special Situations Fund announced in March 2002 that they purchased a controlling interest in New Flyer Industries. They invested $44-million to help recapitalize the company and fund operations. The Manitoba Development Corporation also provided a $20-million loan.[5][6] In December, 2003, New Flyer announced that Harvest Partners, Inc., a New York-based leading private equity firm specializing in middle market investments, had entered into definitive agreements to acquire New Flyer Industries Limited, from KPS Special Situations Fund. Lightyear Capital, LLC, a New York-based private equity firm joined Harvest in the acquisition.[7]

In October 2003, Coast Mountain Bus Company awarded New Flyer a contract to build Canada's first low floor electric trolleybuses.[8] The order comprised of 228 low floor buses; 40 articulated 60-foot and 188 40-foot trolleybuses. This was also the debut for the redesigned front and rear ends for their low floor bus line.

New Flyer was named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for the third consecutive year in 2007.[9] The survey was conducted by Mediacorp Canada Inc., publisher of Mclean's Magazine. New Flyer would again make the list in 2008 and later be named by Mediacorp Canada as one of Canada's most earth friendly employers.[10] New Flyer was recognized for actively embracing pollution prevention and waste reduction through such things as reducing volatile organic compounds and efficient use of materials.

In late March 2010, New Flyer announced they had interest in exporting overseas.[11]

New Flyer announced in May 2011 that they had entered into an agreement with Girardin Minibus where they would be the exclusive distributor of New Flyer buses in Quebec.[12] The first Quebec order under this agreement was for the CIT de Sorel-Varennes with up to 27 Xcelsior buses. They were delivered in the fourth quarter of 2011 and entered service in January 2012.

In April 2013, New Flyer introduced the MiDi medium-duty transit bus based on a design by Alexander Dennis.[13] The New Flyer MiDi made its debut at the 2013 APTA Bus and Paratransit conference.[14]

New Flyer agreed to purchase rival bus manufacturer North American Bus Industries in June 2013.[15] A year later, New Flyer announced the discontinuation of NABI's product line. Existing orders were filled into 2015, and remaining orders were converted to New Flyer's product line.

On November 10, 2015, the company announced the purchase of highway coach giant Motor Coach Industries for $455 Million USD from an affiliate of KPS Capital Partners, L.P.[16]

In May 2017, New Flyer and Alexander Dennis announced that MiDi production will be transferred in the fourth quarter of the year from New Flyer's Minnesota facility to Alexander Dennis's facility in Indiana. Sales, marketing and aftermarket parts would also be transitioned to Alexander Dennis with the full support of New Flyer. In total, New Flyer produced 200 MiDi buses for 22 customers.[17]

In December 2017, the company purchased cutaway and medium-duty bus manufacturer ARBOC Specialty Vehicles for $95 Million USD.[18]

In May 2018, the company changed its formal name from New Flyer Industries Inc. to NFI Group Inc. to better reflect the multi-platform nature of its business, including vehicles built under its various brands and parts sold by NFI Parts.[1]

In May 2019, the company purchased Alexander Dennis for £320 million.[19]

In October 2024, New Flyer announced a major investment in its Winnipeg plant that will allow the company to fully produce electric buses there by the year 2027. Presently, only the shells are built in Winnipeg and are then shipped to the plant in Anniston, Alabama.[20]

NFI Group subsidiaries

  • Carfair Composites - Fibreglass component supplier.
  • Plaxton - English motorcoach manufacturer. Product line includes double deck buses.

Production facilities

Current

  • Crookston, MN (214 5th Ave. SW, Crookston, MN) - opened in March 1996, second US assembly plant; replaced Grand Forks plant.
  • St. Cloud, MN (6200 Glenn Carlson Dr., St. Cloud, MN)- opened in 1999, third US assembly plant.
  • Anniston, AL (106 National Drive, Anniston, AL)- former NABI plant, acquired by NFI in 2015 as fourth US assembly plant.
  • Winnipeg, MB (711 Kernaghan Ave., Winnipeg, MB) - headquarters and Canadian assembly plant.

Former

  • Grand Forks, ND - opened in 1990, first US assembly plant; closed in 1996 after being replaced by new Crookston plant.[1]

Bus models breakdown

New Flyer buses are represented by a code, which is usually composed of a prefix, a number, and finally a suffix.

The fuel/propulsion type is represented by the prefix, however for the Xcelsior model, the letter X is placed before the fuel/propulsion prefix.

C - Compressed natural gas (all models except Xcelsior)
D - Diesel
E - Electric trolleybus (all models except Xcelsior) OR battery electric (Xcelsior only)
F - Fuel cell
G - Gasoline
H - Hydrogen or hybrid hydrogen fuel cell
- Originally signified diesel-electric hybrid
L - Liquefied natural gas
N - Compressed natural gas (Xcelsior only)
T - Electric trolleybus (Xcelsior only)
_E - Hybrid-electric propulsion setup, with first letter representing fuel

The number indicates the length of the bus in feet.

30
35
40
60

The bus type or model is signified with the suffix. For the Xcelsior which, as stated above, is signified by the letter X before the fuel/propulsion letter(s), the "LF" sufix is omitted.

HF - High floor.
-Introduced later after introduction of low floor models.
i - Invero model
LF - Low Floor units with the original front and rear ends
LFA (formerly LF BRT) - Low floor units with BRT styling
LFR - Low floor units with restyled front and rear ends
S - Suburban transit coach

Frameless passenger windows are also an option, but is not represented in the name of the bus.

Products

Current

Diesel

Diesel-electric Hybrid

Natural Gas

Electric trolleybus (ETB)

Battery electric

Since 2017, the battery electric Xcelsiors have been marketed under the Xcelsior CHARGE nameplate.

Fuel Cell

Historical

Diesel high floor

Diesel low floor

Hybrid low floor

Fuel cell low floor

  • F40LF Hydrogen Fuel Cell Test Buses (1996)
  • H40LFR (2008 to 2013)

Natural gas high floor

  • C40 (1994 to 1999)
  • L40 (1994 to 1999)

Natural gas low floor

Electric trolleybus (ETB)

Not built

Diesel low floor

Hybrid low floor

Natural gas low floor

Electric Trolley Bus (ETB)

  • E40 (announced in June 1987 for TTC, but never built)[22]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Annual Information Form. NFI Group. 20 March 2019. Retrieved on 24 November 2019.
  2. 2.0 2.1 New Flyer - About. New Flyer.
  3. Special to The Globe and Mail. "Manitoba Gets 74% Equity in Bus Manufacturing Firm." The Globe and Mail (1936-Current), 1971, pp. B2.
  4. Dutch Bus Firm to Acquire Flyer. Press release. 25 April 1986. Government of Manitoba.
  5. KPS SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND, L.P. PURCHASES CONTROLLING INTEREST IN NEW FLYER INDUSTRIES. Press release. 18 March 2002. New Flyer Industries.
  6. Winnipeg bus maker gets new owner. 16 December 2003. The Globe and Mail.
  7. Harvest Partners to Acquire New Flyer Industries (Press release). New Flyer Industries. 15 December 2003. Retrieved on 09 September 2009.
  8. Translink Renews Trolley Bus Fleet with New Flyer (Press release). New Flyer Industries. 31 October 2003. Retrieved on 09 October 2009.
  9. New Flyer Named to Top 100 Employers in Canada for Third Consecutive Year (Press release). New Flyer Industries. 10 October 2007. Retrieved on 09 October 2009.
  10. New Flyer Named One of Canada's Most Earth-Friendly Employers for 2008 (Press release). New Flyer Industries. 24 April 2008. Retrieved on 09 October 2009.
  11. Cash, martin (25 March 2010). New Flyer eyes overseas markets. Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved on 31 March 2010.
  12. New Flyer Appoints Girardin to sell and support heavy-duty transit buses in Quebec (Press release). New Flyer Industries. 03 May 2011. Retrieved on 23 June 2011.
  13. [ http://www.newflyer.com/index/midi Introducing the New Flyer MiDi™] Retrieved on April 5, 2013
  14. Introducing the New Flyer MiDi™ (Press release). New Flyer Industries. Retrieved on 05 April 2013.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 NEW FLYER CONFIRMS THE SUCCESSFUL CLOSING OF NORTH AMERICAN BUS INDUSTRIES, INC. ACQUISITION AND RELATED FINANCING TRANSACTIONS Retrieved on June 21, 2013
  16. 16.0 16.1 NEW FLYER ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF MCI, NORTH AMERICA’S LEADING MOTOR COACH MANUFACTURER, PARTS AND SERVICE COMPANY, NewFlyer.com, retrieved 10-11-2015
  17. New Flyer and Alexander Dennis Agree to Transition MiDi® Bus to North American-Based Alexander Dennis Inc. Retrieved on May 10,2017
  18. 18.0 18.1 New Flyer acquires ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, NewFlyer.com, retrieved 3-12-2017
  19. 19.0 19.1 Canadian bus company NFI acquires British double decker bus company for $546M. 28 May 2019. Retrieved on 28 May 2019.
  20. New Flyer to expand electric bus production in Winnipeg, creating 250 jobs, cbc.ca, 25 October 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  21. "New Flyer Buys the Orion Aftermarket Parts Business of Daimler Bus for US$29M." The Canadian Press, 2013.
  22. cptdb.ca/uploads & cptdb.ca/topic

External links

New Flyer Industries
v·d·e
Current Models

Battery-Electric: 35ft: XE35 - 40ft: XE40 - 60ft: XE60
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): 35ft: XN35 - 40ft: XN40 - 60ft: XN60
Diesel: 35ft: XD35 - 40ft: XD40 - 60ft: XD60
Diesel-Electric Hybrid: 35ft: XDE35 - 40ft: XDE40 - 60ft: XDE60
Electric Trolleybus: 40ft: XT40 - 60ft: XT60
Hydrogen Fuel Cell: 40ft: XHE40 - 60ft: XHE60

Past Models

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): 30ft: C30LF - C30LFR - 35ft: C35LF - C35LFR - 40ft: C40 - C40LF - C40LFR
Diesel: 30ft: D30LF - MD30 - 35ft: D35 - D35LF - D35LFR - MD35 - 40ft: D40 - D40LF - D40LFA - D40LFR - D40S - D40i - 45ft: D45S - 60ft: D60 - D60LF - D60LFA - D60LFR
Diesel-Electric Hybrid: 30ft: DE30LFR - 35ft: DE35LF - DE35LFA - DE35LFR - 40ft: DE40LF - DE40LFA - DE40LFR - DE40i - 60ft: DE60LF - DE60LFA - DE60LFR
Electric Trolleybus: 40ft: E40LF - E40LFR - 60ft: E60 - E60LFR
Gasoline-Electric Hybrid: 35ft: GE35LFR - 40ft: GE40LF - GE40LFA - GE40LFR
Hydrogen-Electric Hybrid: 40ft: HE40LF
Hydrogen Fuel Cell: 40ft: F40LF/H40LF - H40LFR
Liquified Natural Gas (LNG): 30ft: L30LF - 35ft: L35LF - 40ft: L40 - L40LF - L40LFR

Platform Invero - Low Floor - MiDi - Xcelsior
v·d·e
Transit Buses
Types Articulated Bus · Bus Rapid Transit · Double Decker Bus · Lift-Equipped Bus · Low Floor Bus · Highway Coach · Shuttle Bus · Trolley Bus
Fuel Battery Electric · Compressed Natural Gas · Diesel · Diesel-Electric Hybrid · Gasoline · Hydrogen Fuel Cell · Liquified Natural Gas
Manufacturers Alexander Dennis · Blue Bird · BYD Auto · Commercial Truck Equipment Co. · Daimler Buses North America · ElDorado National · Environmental Performance Vehicles · Ford · Gillig · IC Bus · Motor Coach Industries · Navistar International · New Flyer Industries · North American Bus Industries · Nova Bus · Optima Bus · Orion International · Prevost Car · Proterra · Scania · Setra · Stewart & Stevenson · Thomas Built Buses · Van Hool · Volvo Buses
VIN Pages Alexander Dennis · American Ikarus · AM General · APS Systems · Blue Bird · BYD Auto · Champion · Crown Coach Corporation · Crown Ikarus · Daimler Buses North America · Designline · Eagle · Ebus · ElDorado National · Environmental Performance Vehicles · Flxible · Flyer Industries · Ford · General Motors · Gillig · Graf & Stift · Greenpower Motor Company · IC Bus · Ikarus USA · Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg · Millennium Transit Services · Motor Coach Industries · National Coach Corporation · Navistar International · Neoplan USA · New Flyer Industries · North American Bus Industries · Nova Bus · Optima Bus · Orion Bus Industries · Prevost Car · Proterra · Saab-Scania · Setra · Stewart & Stevenson · TEMSA · Thomas Built Buses · Transportation Manufacturing Corporation · TransBus International · Van Hool · Volvo Buses · Western Flyer Coach