When it comes to how and when to spend our money, we all have preferences.
In the tech world, many battle it out over Apple and Samsung. The beverage battle continues between Coca Cola and Pepsi, while car enthusiasts still argue over Holden and Ford. With these, preference and loyalty usually outweigh the actual performance of the brands pitted against each other.
For those in the Australasian bus and coach industry, the trend continues, with operators having their personal choice of OEMs and parts manufacturers.
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Melbourne-based operator Alston Coaches is known for having favourites, famously being a long-standing supporter of Mercedes-Benz buses. But with the ultimate demise of the Mercedes-Benz bus brand within the local industry, Alston recently made the swift switch to ordering Volvo chassis. Despite this change, it still wanted to remain loyal when it came to one aspect – seating.
“We have worked with Sege Seats for a long time, over decades, and for us, they are the best choice,” Alston Coaches founder Fazlaan Farook told ABC.
“Even when we switched over to Volvo Bus, we knew we wanted to have Sege Seats in our fleet.”
Commencing operations more than 17 years ago in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Braeside, Alston Coaches was built on the foundation of providing a luxurious and safe experience to refresh the landscape of transportation for Melburnians.
Servicing private school charters, extended tours and corporate events in and around the area, Farook says Alston Coaches has prided itself on its ability to offer an experience that is unparalleled in the industry.
“Having examined the bus industry in Melbourne, all we saw were white buses with basic features and seats,” Farook says.
“As an operator, you never want your bus to look the same as another. You want your seats and your bus to look completely different.
“We’ve worked with Sege Seats to create and design seats that are unlike anything else you would see, making it different from the stock-standard.”
With a fleet of more than 60 buses, Sege Seats now plays a large part in the majority of these vehicles, creating one-of-a-kind luxury seats that assist Alston Coaches in making its dream a reality.
“Working together through every step, we were able to choose between leather colours and finishes, designs, quality and more,” Farook says.
“They provided us with mock-ups through the process and left us feeling incredibly confident in our decision.”
Although Farook can see for himself the high quality of the seats, he says another primary reason for continuing to use Sege Seats’ products comes from the customer service and maintenance side of the supplier’s operations.
“On the off chance there is damage to the seats, belts or any other component, maintenance or replacements are easily accessible,” he says.
“There is no waiting around for weeks or months for a part – we have a turnaround of usually only one working day.”
The relationship between Sege Seats and Alston Coaches is only continuing to grow, with the operator already eyeing off Sege’s newest light-weight range. Proving it can keep up with the local bus and coach industry’s zero-emissions evolution, Sege Seats has developed extra light-weight seats that are suitable for new electric bus and coach models.
“While we don’t have any electric buses in the fleet as of yet, it is something that we are looking towards in the near future,” Farook says.
“We are already looking at the light-weight models that Sege Seats is creating, as we know it will be up to standard and will be exactly what we need.”
But it’s not just operators around the country that favour the seating brand, with diesel mechanics even tipping their hats at the construction. With over 20 years’ experience in the bus and coach industry, Sege’s Ozcan Kuvanci has had faith in the seating brand from its inception.
“I’ve had a long-term relationship with Lance, since the beginning of Sege when he was trying to bring the product into Australia,” Kuvanci told ABC.
“As a friend, I was helping him out with ADR testing, fitments and installations – all of that.
“Even as a diesel mechanic, having never worked with seating before, I knew he was onto a winner.”
Spending years lending a hand wherever needed, it was only a couple of years ago that he jumped onboard Sege full-time as a sales executive.
“Lance came to me with the opportunity to join the team and help push the product out even further. I obviously believed in the product and the team and had no hesitations with saying yes,” he says.
Kuvanci was a breath of fresh air for the brand, bringing not only a wealth of technical expertise to the role, but a passion for the product and customers involved.
“While I may not work with my hands as much anymore, this role is just as demanding,” he says.
“I need to have the ability to understand and address specific needs of the customer, prioritise their requirements and ensure every customer is feeling confident and supported throughout their journey with our products.
“We are committed to delivering higher levels of service, and it all plays a big part.”
As part of Sege Seats’ wish to complete any custom seat orders it receives, the company doesn’t shy away from unusual or difficult requests. One of the latest projects the brand completed was for a New South Wales operator who wanted seats that were able to be folded and wheeled on tracking.
“The operator didn’t want drivers lifting seats manually off the bus and was after a design that was able to be made accessible at any time,” Kuvanci says.
“It was definitely a challenge, but one that we prided ourselves on figuring out and making work.
“I think that’s the essence of the brand, knowing that we will try our hardest to bring a customer’s vision to life.”