It was only two years ago that Donric Group and Sege began a supply partnership, but now Donric Group is continuing to make a range of Sege seats standard in its fleet
Some of the greatest bonds have come via chance. The developing partnership between Sege Seats and the Donric Group would never have happened if it wasn’t for heavy vehicle brand Irizar.
In early 2020, Donric Group, which owns bus and coach companies in Victoria and Queensland including Sunbury Bus Service, was looking to buy new Irizar vehicles. Up to this point, Donric Group had always bought seats from another manufacturer. It all changed when the first Irizar buses were delivered.
“When we started buying Irizar school buses we got them with Sege seats as a default option,” Donric Group managing director Matt Baird told ABC.
“From there, the relationship has grown and grown over the past two years.”
Baird says Sege seats have now become a regular feature on Donric Group’s school buses and coaches. On the school buses, Sege Passenger 4030X grey seats are supplied as standard from Irizar, while the coaches feature Sege Passenger 4036 models.
The coach seats were the catalyst behind Donric Group’s fast-growing relationship with Sege. Although Donric Group still uses other manufacturer’s seats on other vehicles, Baird quickly found Sege’s coach products to be ideal for particular fleets.
“Our coach fleet uses full leather seats that have a black leather and red insert that we love,” Baird says.
“Sege customised the design for us and gave us different styles to consider. They were very adaptable with those options and allowed us to choose what we wanted.”
After first meeting through Irizar, Sege and Donric Group now deal directly with each other. A combination of Sege’s responsiveness and ability to customise designs and colours on the seats has convinced Baird to keep using Sege seats.
Between the base grey school bus seats and the luxury leather coach models, Baird has been receiving positive comments on the seats from passengers since introducing Sege onboard.
“The responses from passengers has been good, they’ve given us great remarks,” he says.
“The impressive part of Sege’s seats is that the leather is clearly of high quality and the seats are luxurious even to the average punter. We’ve noticed that especially our coach seats have been getting positive reviews from passengers.”
Donric Group’s ethos is to standardise vehicles and parts where possible to build a consistent fleet. The combination of Irizar buses and coaches and Sege seats is proving to be a winner, meaning Baird wants to continue buying Sege seats for its school bus and coach models as it continues to grow.
While Donric Group still buys other seats for its low-floor route bus fleet, it is intent on sticking with Sege seats on its other vehicles.
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“Although Sege isn’t the only seating company we have a good working relationship with, we are planning to standardise our coach and school bus fleet with Sege,” Baird says.
“We’ll continue doing so and expanding our fleet while it’s the best seats for those certain models on the market.”
From Sege’s side, this success story with Donric Group reinforces Sege’s capabilities in providing school charter and coach seats in a limited market. Sege managing director Lance Taskin says his brand’s flexibility in design and colour was key to growing the partnership with Donric Group.
“We can customise anything to our customer’s needs,” Taskin told ABC.
“Whether it be the choice of colour or design, our main target is to focus on customer service and choice.
“People can also hop onto our website and tailor seats. By simply clicking on the three seat models available online, they can then coordinate colours and mix and match them with materials to design their own seats that we then supply to them.”
At Sege, it’s all about the small details. Taskin is committed to providing any seating options that the Australian market wants to fill buses and coaches with Sege seats that are safe, comfortable and durable, as well as aesthetically pleasing.
Sege’s latest developments include upgrades to its lighter electric vehicle option in the Intercity 390 Passenger models.
“These models are slimline, lighter seats that are perfect for electric buses and coaches,” Taskin says.
“The weight on our electric seats are 19.5kg per double, or 21.5kg with a seatbelt. This means there’s a weight saving of six to eight kilograms per double, which is massive for an electric vehicle.”
Alongside the new electric bus options is the new Sege Passenger 430 seat designed for the general usage in coaches or school buses. These seats were shown at last year’s Expo and have the same comfort that passengers have come to expect from Sege seats.
Combined with personal aftersales care from Taskin and the team at Sege, it’s no surprise that the brand has struck partnerships with the likes of Donric Group.
Alongside Donric Group, Sege has also recently forged partnerships with Kangaroo Bus Lines and Alston Coaches by supplying seats as a default option on Irizar vehicles. With Sege seats also available in Irizar’s showrooms, Taskin encourages the local market to see and touch Sege’s expanding range of seats in person to continue growing the Sege brand.
“Customers can go into the Irizar showroom and sit on our different seats to see the benefits of our models,” Taskin says.
“They’ll find out that the detail in our seats is what sets Sege apart. Whether it be different colours, materials or designs, Sege has heaps of options to satisfy the Australian market.”