Bus manufacturer BCI’s brand new Melbourne site sees service offered on new ground
Australian body builder BCI is celebrating 25 years in business in 2016, and with that comes the completion of the manufacturer’s brand new Melbourne site.
BCI was founded in 1991 in Perth by Ron Nazzari and has since expanded into each state and territory of Australia as well as New Zealand.
The new Melbourne-based site was operational from July 2015 and boasts a size of 4,500 square metres.
The site doubles as a workshop and show room, as well as sales and administration offices.
Many of the experienced Western Australia staff made the move interstate with the company, assuring customers of a continued standard in quality and care.
General manager of finance Ivan Furlanetto has been with the manufacturer for 20 years, and says the body builder’s commitment to quality is what has kept the company competitive over the last two and a half decades.
“We actually have guys that know the industry,” he says. “You need a blend of the new and the old to keep on pushing.”
Furlanetto has seen the company move from being manufactured in Malaysia to China, using Australian ISO standards in design and engineering to showcase a superior Australian designed product.
The vehicles were originally built on a Nissan, MAN, & Mercedes-Benz chassis – as the brand had a lot of synergies with the product – but over the past 14 years BCI has started producing its own chassis.
Over the past three years the venture with Mercedes-Benz has flourished with the arrival of 94 fully built up units, with more than a dozen expected to be delivered in the coming weeks.
There has also been a keen interest in BCI’s double decker products as a New Zealand company has a further 15 vehicles ordered.`
“Our plan is actually to be at the front line – support the product and support the guys out there and in return they will support us,” explains Furlanetto.
He says BCI’s innovations will continue to keep the company competitive in the local market for many more years to come.
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