Orion International

"Orion III" redirects here. For the spaceplane from 2001: A Space Odyssey, see Orion III spaceplane.
Orion International
Subsidiary
Industry Bus building
Fate Voluntary closure/market exit
Founded 1975
Defunct 2013
Headquarters 350 Hazelhurst Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5J 4T8
Area served
 Canada, United States
Key people
 Rich Ferguson (CEO)
Products Transit buses
Owner Daimler AG (2000-2013)
New Flyer (2013-present; aftermarket business only)
Number of employees
 1,400 (US and Canada)
Parent New Flyer (aftermarket business only)
Website www.orionbus.com

Orion International, previously Orion Bus Industries and Ontario Bus Industries in Canada and Bus Industries of America in the United States, was a bus manufacturer based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and established by the Government of Ontario in 1975. The company had assembly plants in Mississauga for initial assembly, and in Oriskany, New York, for final assembly and testing of vehicles destined for US markets.

Corporate history

Ontario Bus and Truck was established in 1975 by the Government of Ontario under premier Bill Davis to produce buses for the province's transit agencies in the late 1970s. The company became known as Ontario Bus Industries in 1977. Meanwhile, Bus Industries of America was established by Donald Sheardown in 1981 to manufacture buses for the United States market. A plant in Oriskany, New York was built in 1982. When Mike Harris took power as premier in 1995, Ontario Bus Industries (along with Bus Industries of America) were purchased and privatized by Western Star Trucks, and Orion Bus Industries was formed in 1995. Orion was acquired by Daimler Chrysler (now Daimler AG) through their subsidiary Freightliner in July 2000, and became part of the group Daimler Buses North America.[1]

On April 25, 2012, Orion International ceased taking orders for new buses, and the Missisauga plant was scheduled to close once outstanding orders were fulfilled.[2]

The Oriskany plant was initially retained for aftermarket support only.[3] Following the sale of that business to New Flyer (which also acquired some of Orion's outstanding orders at the time of shutdown), the fate of the New York location remains unclear although it is still currently performing repairs, including a retrofit program with BAE Systems for recalled hybrid-electric buses using BAE's HybriDrive system.

The sales and closures are part of the closure of Daimler Buses North America; only Daimler's imported Setra buses will continue to be marketed although North American distribution will be taken over by Motor Coach Industries (MCI). Production of Daimler Buses North America's Sprinter shuttle buses will be moved to other facilities. It was announced that more than 530 workers will be laid off in the Mississauga and Oriskany plants. The Mississauga workers staged a wildcat work stoppage to protest in employee frustration at the slow pace of winding-down talks.[4][5]

Oriskany was the head office for part department to support Orion bus operators until New Flyer acquired the after market business from Daimler Buses.

Product lineup

Orion manufactured a number of different models of buses over its 37-year existence. A list of models is given below; each increasing number is the next generation model.

Most buses today in service are of the Orion V or VII models.

Model Length & Width Picture Produced Fuel type
Orion I 31 ft (9.45 m) • 96 in (2.44 m),
35 ft (10.67 m) • 96 in (2.44 m),
37 ft (11.28 m) • 96 in (2.44 m),
40 ft (12.19 m) • 96 in (2.44 m)
1977–1993
Orion II 21.92 ft (6.68 m) • 96 in (2.44 m),
25.92 ft (7.90 m) • 96 in (2.44 m)
1983–2003
Orion III
Orion-Ikarus 286
(bodies and chassis made by Ikarus to
form the Ikarus 286 model, marketed
as the Orion-Ikarus)[6]		 60 ft (18.29 m) • 102 in (2.59 m) 1986–1989
Orion IV
  • Tractor: 37.5 ft (11.43 m) • 98.75 in (2.51 m)
  • Trailer: 35.5 ft (10.82 m) • 98.75 in (2.51 m)
 1985-1986, 1988–1989
Orion V 32 ft (9.75 m) • 96 in (2.44 m),
35 ft (10.67 m) • 96 in (2.44 m),
35 ft (10.67 m) • 102 in (2.59 m),
40 ft (12.19 m) • 96 in (2.44 m),
40 ft (12.19 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)
1989–2009
Orion VI 40 ft (12.19 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)
1995–2004
32.5 ft (9.91 m) • 102 in (2.59 m),
35 ft (10.67 m) • 102 in (2.59 m),
40.5 ft (12.34 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)
2001–2007 (original)
Orion VII
2007–2011 (Next Generation)
2010-2013 (EPA10)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Daimler Buses North America
  2. ↑ "Daimler plant closing compounds Canada’s manufacturing pain" from The Globe and Mail (April 25, 2012)
  3. ↑ Future of Orion remains unclear as Daimler gets out of bus business http://www.wktv.com/news/local/Future-of-Orion-remains-unclear-as-Damiler-gets-out-of-bus-business-148869275.html
  4. ↑ http://www.wktv.com/news/local/Dept-of-Labor-releases-official-number-of-layoffs-for-Orion-Bus--160037935.html
  5. ↑ http://www.mississauga.com/news/business/article/1361569--workers-off-the-job-at-bus-making-plant
  6. ↑ Wilkins, Van (Spring 1986). "Success with a Twist" (feature article about the development and use of articulated buses in North America). Bus World magazine, pp. 7–13. ISSN 0162-9689.

External links

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Hybrid buses

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