In July this year, Bus Stop opened its doors at the Brisbane Bus Centre in Rocklea to bus manufacturer BusTech Group to facilitate BusTech maintaining a manufacturing presence in south-east Queensland.
“We’re really excited to support the transition of Australian manufacturing to Rocklea in Brisbane,” Bus Stop CEO Pete White told ABC.
“When the opportunity presented itself to share our facility with another respected Queensland bus company, it was exciting to embrace it and welcome them to the Brisbane Bus Centre.”
In many other industries, the idea of welcoming what many people could perceive to be competition onto your site would be frowned upon. For White and the Bus Stop team, it was a no-brainer.
He says the decision to welcome BusTech Group to Rocklea was based around the ethos of supporting the Australian manufacturing of buses in Queensland for the local market and working with a like-minded partner.
“Retaining manufacturing skill sets and capability continues to be important for the future of the Australian bus industry – losing that is in no one’s best interests, including our own, given the plans we have for the future,” White says.
“We’re enthusiastic in supporting a fellow industry partner to remain in Queensland. Our site is big enough to support that and any future growth plans that are already in place, so it made sense to welcome them.”
Having now made the move to Rocklea, BusTech Group CEO Dan Marks is focused on continuing normal operations.
“The initial focus at Rocklea is to complete existing orders with others in the pipeline,” BusTech Group CEO Dan Marks told ABC.
“BusTech extends its thanks to Pete White and Bus Stop Sales, who have accommodated our transition with flexibility and incredible support.”
In the weeks since the relocation, BusTech has already delivered four buses to customers, continuing to manufacture buses with its loyal and skilled workforce with more than 500 years in total of bus manufacturing experience.
Despite the distance of the move for BusTech, it has retained 90 per cent of its production staff, which will be comforting for its current and future customers.
“It’s business as usual for BusTech. It is no secret that our move wasn’t entirely within our control – however it has proved to be a godsend,” Marks says.
“The layout at the facility in Burleigh was not ideal for how we want to manufacture buses and moving out of that site was only a matter of time in any event. The new facility in Rocklea is in many respects more fit for purpose and allows us to reset and reposition the business.
“We welcome the opportunity for customers to come to the site and see for themselves – BusTech is alive and kicking and manufacturing quality buses.”
With gantry cranes already installed, the centre is the right fit for BusTech as it continues bus manufacturing. Yet BusTech isn’t just focused on manufacturing – it’s also expanding its aftersales service division by offering frame inspections to bus operators to extend the life of their buses.
“As a bus manufacturer we are perfectly positioned to offer this service,” Marks says.
“Who better to do that type of work than the people who manufacture buses?”
The relocation to Rocklea has numerous other advantages for BusTech. It is now closer to a number of its suppliers and customers, while it also has an opportunity to partner with Bus Stop on some exciting market opportunities as Bus Stop continues to look to localise its own manufacturing capabilities through partnering with like-minded businesses.
“We selected south-east Queensland because of the opportunities we see here, we’ll continue to invest heavily in this site to offer a variety of services and products to the bus industry in both Queensland and wider Australia,” White says.
Bus Stop is continuing its investment in the Australian industry by looking at ways to partner with BusTech, complementing Bus Stop’s range of imported vehicles and its desire to increase its local content.
While having committed to King Long as a partner alongside Brisbane Isuzu and Coach Concepts, Bus Stop’s site has now added a local manufacturing capability to its current suite of integrated products.
The ability for Bus Stop to now work with another local manufacturer to support the site makes plenty of sense for White and the company, which is now realising the dream of making the Brisbane Bus Centre the dedicated home of buses and coaches in Queensland.
“The Brisbane Bus Centre is unique within the Australian bus industry with two market leading bus companies occupying one site. We now have the best of both worlds,” White says.
“Our integrated products suit some customers. Now we can offer an alternative offering with a local manufactured body on an imported chassis, which is no different to what the European OEMs have been doing for years.
“We are an OEM in our own right, and if we don’t have a product that suits a customer’s needs then we can happily point them in the direction of BusTech.”
While BusTech has its own electric bus offering with its BusTech ZDI-450, neither Bus Stop nor BusTech see this as an obstacle to working together on a Bus Stop offering in the same market segment.
“The electric bus market is due to expand significantly in the next 12 to 18 months and the market is going to be large enough to sustain multiple product offerings,” Marks says.
“BusTech has offered its own locally manufactured integrated diesel product in the market for more than 15 years while also working with chassis providers to provide a body building option – we are approaching the electric bus market in the same way.”
Despite sharing the one site, the BusTech and Bus Stop are, and will remain, two separate businesses. The brands will instead combine on the vision for a single bus centre in Queensland.
“Our operations are completely separate, but it’s great to have the camaraderie and complementary skillsets of both operations on site with a common goal for the same industry,” White says.
“The future is very bright for both businesses and the Rocklea site. We look forward to the future together and continue to be excited about south-east Queensland opportunities.”
Although both BusTech and Bus Stop will continue running independently, White and Marks are in the process of formulating a strategic roadmap for potential collaborations in the future. The King Long EVolution low-floor chassis distributed by Bus Stop is one of the leading options in its field.
White wants that chassis to be bodied by Australian manufacturers. It’s not hard to connect the dots.
“We welcome the chance to work with body manufacturers like BusTech, who is a leading Australian body manufacturer with the highest local content of any Australian manufacturer,” White says.
“We’d be crazy not to be having those discussions, it just makes sense. BusTech has been manufacturing buses in Queensland for 30 years and its marine grade stainless steel body is market leading.
“Bus Stop has a facility that is a massive Australian dedicated bus site with a space that we could make ready immediately for BusTech to relocate to, and it’s been a seamless transition for both of us to date – the future is bright.”