Leading body builder Custom Coaches has started relocating its head office and manufacturing plant to a new site in the western Sydney suburb of Villawood
May 7, 2010
Custom Coaches has started relocating its head office and manufacturing plant to a new site in Sydney’s western suburbs.
The relocation to Biloela Street in Villawood will be rolled out in stages, allowing production and services to continue with minimal disruption.
Custom Coaches has been located at the existing Smithfield site since 1975 and while it was not an easy decision to leave the site that holds such strong historical ties, the move is required to enhance significant restructuring to its design and production procedures.
“The Sturt Street site has served the company well over the last 35 years. It remains four different factories on one site and we need one homogenous plant fully designed to achieve the production efficiencies and quality targets for our company today and in the future,” says Custom Coaches Chief Executive Mark Burgess.
“Our future lies in providing innovative, high quality and competitive products for the Australian bus industry, and the new Villawood plant will play a significant role in our future success.”
Custom Coaches original site at Marian Street, Guildford, started manufacturing buses in 1955.
Moving to the Smithfield site in 1975 proved successful and saw the site expand with the installation of four additional paint booths and the creation of a second factory in 1992.
In 2002 Custom Coaches expanded into the adjacent property and introduced a ‘dynamic’ production line.
The Villawood site will be the home for the company’s bus plant, Custom Care parts and service, component manufacturing, engineering, logistics, purchasing, administration and NSW sales.
Once relocated Custom Coaches manufacturing will be able to commence using its new five-axis laser tube cutter, the most sophisticated version in Australia and a central part of production for the new CB80 and SB50 models.
The CB80 and SB50 incorporate hundreds of high-quality new internal and external parts that have been designed and manufactured using the latest 3D computer-aided design techniques, including 3D computer surface modelling and automated manufacturing techniques.
Burgess says Custom Coaches constant innovation and investment has been central to the company’s progressive growth into Australia’s second-largest body builder.
According to data published exclusively by ABC, Custom Coaches delivered a record 432 units in 2009 to claim a 23.49 percent share of the market, up from 22 percent in 2008.