When travelling, the most complained about aspect can often be pinpointed as the physical travel itself. Small seats, long hours, lack of space and a longing to lay down in bed.
While many companies have accepted this as a fact of life, seating manufacturer McConnell Seats Australia have taken it as a challenge.
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As a local Australian business that has been operating for over half a century, McConnell Seats have managed to do the impossible – create an innovative comfortable seating solution.
Unveiled at the recent National Bus and Coach Show, the next-gen seats have taken the best features from previous models and reengineered them with modern technology and thinking.
“Our current range has been in the market for 20 odd years, so the next-gen seats are a big change up for us,” McConnell general manager James Lowe told ABC.
“We have found much success with our current Espace range. Customers are still buying the product and are happy with the product, but obviously it was designed 20 years ago.
“Technology has moved on, manufacturing techniques have improved, there are new lighter parts available. With all of these in combination, it just gives you the real opportunity to design a new seat from the ground up.”
When McConnell was acquired 10 years ago, the brand had only the one engineer working across its bus, rail and tram markets. In recent years, McConnell has invested in its engineering team, with eight engineers now on the payroll.
The team at McConnell knew they were needing fresh eyes for this project, and with the recent demise of the local car industry, were able to get its hands on some of the tier one seat designers from the automotive industry.
“We have been very lucky to pick up the services of three seating engineers that have an incredible wealth of expertise,” Lowe says.
“These engineers have worked on Elon Musk’s Tesla range, so a lot of that experience is going into the design of our next range of seat belted seats.”
Visually, the team wanted the new seating to look as good as it performs, with a sleek European styling that rivals the luxury options on the current market. While the new seat model may not be what many in the industry have historically expected from McConnell, it’s a sign of the future.
“I think the new range will definitely have a contemporary look and feel about it; visually and aesthetically, it’s going to look a lot more modern.”
“We’ve taken a lot of inspiration from some European styling, both automotive and bus and rail, so we have been trying to meld all those designs into something quite contemporary for the Australian bus market.”
As society turns more technology-focused, McConnell’s latest offering caters specifically to the growing need. Each seat will have the option to include an electronic device holder/charger and USB A and C ports for easy use.
The newest model is suitable for comfort travel, luxury tour and charter operations, able to meet a variety of needs within the market.
Passengers are able to experience spacious comfort with the high quality, dual density moulded cushion and back foams with dacron overlay that provide an unparalleled user experience.
Whether travelling 30 minutes or multiple hours, the next-gen model allows passengers to get comfortable, with soft-touch adjustable reclining and a unique folding armrest that creates an uncluttered coach aisle and comfortable passenger access to and from the seat.
In keeping with modern times, McConnell also wanted to ensure its new offering could work seamlessly with any future electric coach offerings by providing a low-weight option that would be beneficial industry-wide.
Working with parent company APM, McConnell is looking to optimise the model and continue saving weight on the seat while remaining compliant with all necessary regulations.
“Every gram saved helps the operator in extending the life of the battery and the bus,” Lowes says.
“We recognise where the future of the bus and coach industry is going, and we want to ensure our products can work into that.
In a market which is becoming increasing safety conscious, Lowe says that its marketing and design team plus the latest in production and construction techniques allows McConnell to offer superior services and products.
“We’re very conscious of making sure that it’s as light as possible, but also structurally sound, so it meets all the ADR crash requirements. The seats will be tested here in Australia for compliance, and all the modelling thus far shows that the seats will pass.”
Designed and manufactured locally in Australia, the seats not only exceed safety expectations, but are made in a way that stands out on the market. A unique part of McConnell’s operations has to do with its local manufacturing process that includes building machines to manufacture design and complete McConnell’s latest seating models in-house.
Able to fabricate, weld and produce its own foam while also making its own seat covers, Lowe says there is nothing better than having Australian-designed products also made in Australia.
“That is just another point of difference for us as a brand.”
Onlookers were also decidedly impressed at this process, with positive feedback coming out of the recent expo in Brisbane.
“The feedback from operators at the show was overwhelmingly positive for comfort, look and feel. Everybody was very excited about having a contemporary coach seat available to the Australian market.”
“They also loved that the seats are locally designed and manufactured.”
Operators and those alike are itching to get their hands on the latest model, with McConnell beginning to fulfil orders early next year.
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