East Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in 1934 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. The company went into administration for a short while in August 2007, before being bought by Darwen Group and performed a reverse takeover with Optare when its parent purchased the company in 2008 and its site and business was later closed in 2012.
1987 high capacity East Lancs body on Scania K92 chassis: one of the last built to this flat-fronted style
In 1994 the company expanded into new premises and commenced a programme of development that resulted in a range of single and double deck buses which was the primary source of income for the company.
On 17 August 2007, the company went into administration but was saved and bought out by the Darwen Group the next day. It is thought that the problem was a direct consequence of changing to the Euro IV chassis, with a shortage of Scania chassis being a factor.[2] After the purchase, the Darwen Group rebranded the company as Darwen East Lancs.
In 2008, Jamesstan Investments, an investment company controlled by the Darwen Group, purchased another bus manufacturer, Optare. Later, in June 2008, a reverse takeover was performed, with the Darwen name disappearing in favour of Optare's.[3] This brings East Lancs name into the Optare Group, with an expanded range of vehicles.[4]
Production of all the original East Lancs bodies ceased by 2011, and the premises in Blackburn closed in 2012.[5]
Products
East Lancs Pyoneer bodied Volvo Olympian in 2009.
East Lancs has had many different styles of bodywork. They had a tradition of using cacography, mostly replacing a letter i with a letter y, which continued until the Esteem and Olympus series.[citation needed]
In 1999, the buses received a front and interior overhaul with the style of the body being based on the new East Lancs Myllennium that was launched for the Millennium Dome routes.[citation needed]
Hyline, a high-floor variant used to re-body Leyland Tiger buses.
Kinetec
The Kinetec was launched at the Euro Bus Expo 2006. They are designed as low-floor bodies for MAN chassis. They have the Esteem/Olympus body but with MAN's own Lion's City design front and rear. A double decker based on the Kinetec was built called the Kinetec+ however it was a one off order and Kinetec buses were phased out with the new acquisition by Darwen Group in 2008.
These buses are the last surviving variants of the original low floor series which became part of their own series. The Scania product range used the Myllennium styling but with Scania own front styling. Whereas the Esteem products used an original front, which developed into a new body entirely.
The Scania products were launched in 2004, however the OmniTown wasn't as well received as the company hoped and was discontinued after Darwen took over ownership.
Both the Esteem and the Olympus (its double decker variant) were launched in 2006. An open top version of the Olympus, named East Lancs Visionaire was launched in summer 2007 with Arriva's The Original Tour.
Production of these buses continued under Darwen ownership.
Related companies
British City Bus was the parent company that owned East Lancashire Coachbuilders. The company was dissolved after Darwen Group rescued East Lancs from administration in 2007.[4]
East Lancs Overseas was a subsidiary of East Lancashire Coachbuilders in charge of taking orders and exporting buses. It was dissolved after Darwen Group rescued East Lancs from administration in 2007. Darwen North West was a vehicle repair business in Blackburn, England, offering coach refurbishment, repair, maintenance, and conversion services.[5] It was originally a subsidiary of the bus manufacturer, called North West Bus & Coach Repairs which was renamed to Darwen North West after the acquisition of assets by Darwen Group. It was later dissolved in 2013.[3]
Logo of British City Bus
Logo of East Lancs Overseas
Logo of Darwen North West (Formally North West Bus & Coach Repairs)
References
^"EAST LANCASHIRE COACHBUILDERS LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
^ ab"Bus Zone - Optare". www.buszone.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
^ ab"New factory for Optare | TheBusinessDesk.com". North West. 29 October 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
^ ab"Blackburn's 80-year bus manufacturing era set to end as Optare moves to Yorkshire". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
External links
March 04, 2023
east, lancashire, coachbuilders, east, lancs, redirects, here, other, uses, east, lancs, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material,. East Lancs redirects here For other uses see East Lancs disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources East Lancashire Coachbuilders news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message East Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in 1934 in Blackburn Lancashire England The company went into administration for a short while in August 2007 before being bought by Darwen Group and performed a reverse takeover with Optare when its parent purchased the company in 2008 and its site and business was later closed in 2012 East Lancashire Coachbuilders Ltd TypePrivateIndustryBus buildingFounded27 October 1934 88 years ago 1934 10 27 1 FounderWalter SmithDefunctMarch 1 2010 2010 03 01 FateDissolved after parent company Darwen Group performed a reverse takeoverSuccessorOptareHeadquartersBlackburn Lancashire EnglandProductsBus bodiesWebsitewww elcb co uk Contents 1 History 2 Products 2 1 Low floor buses 2 1 1 Myllennium Facelift 2 1 2 Kinetec 2 2 Scania and Esteem product range 3 Related companies 4 References 5 External linksHistory Edit 1987 high capacity East Lancs body on Scania K92 chassis one of the last built to this flat fronted styleIn 1994 the company expanded into new premises and commenced a programme of development that resulted in a range of single and double deck buses which was the primary source of income for the company On 17 August 2007 the company went into administration but was saved and bought out by the Darwen Group the next day It is thought that the problem was a direct consequence of changing to the Euro IV chassis with a shortage of Scania chassis being a factor 2 After the purchase the Darwen Group rebranded the company as Darwen East Lancs In 2008 Jamesstan Investments an investment company controlled by the Darwen Group purchased another bus manufacturer Optare Later in June 2008 a reverse takeover was performed with the Darwen name disappearing in favour of Optare s 3 This brings East Lancs name into the Optare Group with an expanded range of vehicles 4 Production of all the original East Lancs bodies ceased by 2011 and the premises in Blackburn closed in 2012 5 Products Edit East Lancs Pyoneer bodied Volvo Olympian in 2009 East Lancs has had many different styles of bodywork They had a tradition of using cacography mostly replacing a letter i with a letter y which continued until the Esteem and Olympus series citation needed Greenway EL2000 predecessor to the Flyte Cityzen predecessor to the OmniDekka Pyoneer predecessor to the Lolyne Low floor buses Edit Lolyne run by Transdev Yellow BusesIn the early 1990s East Lancs developed buses for the low floor market with the style of the body being based on the former East Lancs Pyoneer Lolyne for Dennis Trident chassis Vyking for Volvo B7TL chassis Nordic for tri axle Volvo B7L chassis Spryte for Dennis Dart and Volvo B6BLE chassis Flyte Step entrance variant that superseded the EL2000 on Scania Volvo and Kirin chassis as well as Leyland Tiger rebodying Myllennium Facelift Edit Myllennium Vyking owned by Wilts amp DorsetIn 1999 the buses received a front and interior overhaul with the style of the body being based on the new East Lancs Myllennium that was launched for the Millennium Dome routes citation needed Myllennium Lolyne with Dennis Trident chassis Myllennium Vyking with Volvo B7TL chassis Myllennium Lowlander with DAF VDL DB250LF chassis Myllennium Nordic for 3 axle Volvo B9TL Myllennium for DAF SB220 MAN 14 220 Scania N94UB and Alexander Dennis Dart Hyline a high floor variant used to re body Leyland Tiger buses Kinetec Edit The Kinetec was launched at the Euro Bus Expo 2006 They are designed as low floor bodies for MAN chassis They have the Esteem Olympus body but with MAN s own Lion s City design front and rear A double decker based on the Kinetec was built called the Kinetec however it was a one off order and Kinetec buses were phased out with the new acquisition by Darwen Group in 2008 Scania and Esteem product range Edit Scania OmniDekka in London run by Transdev London These buses are the last surviving variants of the original low floor series which became part of their own series The Scania product range used the Myllennium styling but with Scania own front styling Whereas the Esteem products used an original front which developed into a new body entirely The Scania products were launched in 2004 however the OmniTown wasn t as well received as the company hoped and was discontinued after Darwen took over ownership OmniTown for Scania N94UB chassis OmniDekka for Scania N94UD N230UD N270UD chassis East Lancs Olympus one of the last East Lancs badged products this one run by Metroline Both the Esteem and the Olympus its double decker variant were launched in 2006 An open top version of the Olympus named East Lancs Visionaire was launched in summer 2007 with Arriva s The Original Tour Esteem for Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart MAN 12 240 Scania N230UB Scania N94UB and Alexander Dennis Enviro300 chassis Olympus for Alexander Dennis Enviro400 VDL DB250 Volvo B9TL and Scania N230UD chassis Visionaire open top body for Volvo B9TL chassisProduction of these buses continued under Darwen ownership Related companies EditBritish City Bus was the parent company that owned East Lancashire Coachbuilders The company was dissolved after Darwen Group rescued East Lancs from administration in 2007 4 East Lancs Overseas was a subsidiary of East Lancashire Coachbuilders in charge of taking orders and exporting buses It was dissolved after Darwen Group rescued East Lancs from administration in 2007 Darwen North West was a vehicle repair business in Blackburn England offering coach refurbishment repair maintenance and conversion services 5 It was originally a subsidiary of the bus manufacturer called North West Bus amp Coach Repairs which was renamed to Darwen North West after the acquisition of assets by Darwen Group It was later dissolved in 2013 3 Logo of British City Bus Logo of East Lancs Overseas Logo of Darwen North West Formally North West Bus amp Coach Repairs References Edit EAST LANCASHIRE COACHBUILDERS LIMITED Overview free company information from Companies House find and update company information service gov uk ELC goes into administration Archived from the original on 12 October 2007 a b Bus Zone Optare www buszone co uk Retrieved 14 March 2021 a b New factory for Optare TheBusinessDesk com North West 29 October 2008 Retrieved 14 March 2021 a b Blackburn s 80 year bus manufacturing era set to end as Optare moves to Yorkshire Lancashire Telegraph Retrieved 14 March 2021 External links EditEast Lancashire Coachbuilders Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title East Lancashire Coachbuilders amp oldid 1134228606, 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