As the leader in the Australasian bus and coach seating market, McConnell Seats has plenty of expectation to live up to each year. In 2024, it didn’t disappoint, delivering one of its best years in recent history.
“While 2024 won’t be the biggest year on record for us, it’s certainly going to be in the top five in my time with McConnell over the past 15 years,” McConnell Australia general manager James Lowe told ABC.
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“We’ve been around for a long, long time, with 2024 being very busy as we focused on our product development.”
This focus was on full display when the National Bus and Coach Show came around in September, with McConnell using the event to unveil prototype designs for its next-gen seating range.
The next-gen model will use the very best features from McConnell’s existing range and reengineer 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 for us,” Lowe says.
With seats flying off the production line each day to accommodate for major deliveries such as these, McConnell optimised its capabilities in-house.
Earlier in 2024, McConnell introduced its new polyurethane line at its home in Broadmeadows, Victoria, with the 12-bay carousel capable of housing 24 moulds. This $1.5 million investment on its own production lines is allowing the brand to have higher productivity and increased expertise in its own technology.
“For moulded foam we are now 100 per cent reliant on ourselves now,” Lowe says.
“Everything we need with moulded foam we now produce in-house. It’s created four jobs and given us a lot of consistency and cost savings.”
While this year’s orders have been skewed more towards its non-seatbelted seat models, the constant seatbelt seat orders have allowed McConnell to supply its wide range of products from its Educator 2/3 to its Espace model.
A focus on customers and its upcoming seat release is set to create another busy year for the seating giant.
“We’ve got good systems and practices in place with the ability to ramp both up and down as required,” Lowe says.
“We’re around 85 per cent local content currently, and our suppliers have been terrific. Our success is a credit to our sales team, with production continuing to pull through.
“While our route bus seats are the market leader, our Education 2/3 and Espace range remain very popular. We’re excited to introduce the next-gen model to the family in 2025.”
What to look forward to in 2025
The next year will be dominated by the next-gen seating model, with the seat all but ready to join the McConnell range. While Lowe admits there’s “work to be done”, initial market response suggests the model will be a winner.
“Everything will change when the next-gen model comes onboard and we move to a new seat design,” Lowe says.
“The focus is on delivering this model and continuing to service our current customer base to keep delivering high level service and products.”