BREAKING: The owners of Custom Bus Group and Denning Manufacturing have exchanged contracts for Custom Bus to acquire “100 per cent of the shares of the company of Denning Manufacturing Pty Ltd”, with an anticipated completion date of 30 September, 2019, it was officially announced today.
The statement comes just ahead of the 2019 BusVic Bus Expo and Maintenance Conference, where Custom will also launch its new City Bus – its first new model in 10 years, the company states.
The acquisition will give Denning Manufacturing a stronger funding position and will provide the necessary support for the significant growth planned for this business, it notes.
Scott Dunn, owner of Custom Bus Group, stated: “Denning is a great Australian brand and I am proud to welcome them to our group.”
“They have great people and a product built to last the Australian conditions.
“It gives us great support into Queensland for all our products, and a school bus second to none in the market,” he explained.
NOTHING TO CHANGE
The acquisition of the company means that nothing will change with regard to the entity customers are trading with, according to Custom.
Denning Manufacturing will continue its operation from the same premises in Acacia Ridge, Queensland, with the same contact phone numbers and same mailing address.
This means no change for customers and suppliers; it will be business as usual for Denning Manufacturing except that from the acquisition date the company will be owned by the larger company and will become part of the Dunn Group, it’s explained.
“It is an exciting time for our business, we now have a bus and coach in every segment of the Australian market,” Dunn explained.
“Custom will replace its current school bus with the Denning school bus on both its own Denning chassis and European chassis.”
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JUST TO CLARIFY
When ABC magazine contacted Scott Dunn to confirm that the Denning branding would still exist, he responded: “Yes, that is correct! Yes, it’s good for us.”
“Denning will still exist. We will also build a school bus under a European chassis, which is good,” he said.
Also, allaying industry fears of staff changes in the lead-up to the deal being announced, Dunn said: “Everything is staying as is,” confirming adamantly that Mike Dempsey will still be there.
Photography: Mark Bean, Paul Aldridge + courtesy Denning