004-047_BCB_1101 8/12/10 9:28 am Page 16

m a n u f a c t u r e r

Optare look to build on

export success
n a recent visit to Optare's

O Crossgates factory in Leeds the

lines were full of left hand drive
product, mostly destined for the
Netherlands but with small numbers for
other export customers. The company
has exported before, but it's a long time
since overseas business has formed
such a high proportion of production,
delivering on CEO Jim Sumner's promise
12 months ago that greater emphasis
would be placed on overseas markets.
A check through my Optare picture
files reveals quite a few left hand drive
vehicles among the myriad right hand
drive examples. From the VW based
CityPacer onward, the company has
sought to develop export business with
varying degrees of success. A batch of
City Pacers was sold in the Netherlands,
there were a few StarRiders in various
configurations including one that found
its way to Russia, and also a small
number of MetroRiders. A completed Syntus Solo ready for despatch to the Netherlands.
The first major export success came when IETT
of Istanbul as well as the city of Izmir took batches
of low height Spectra double deckers on DAF
DB250 chassis in 1992. I've seen both running on
visits to other manufacturers, the IETT examples
as recently as 2009. Soon after the Spectras,
another major export order was won to Malaysia,
which took a CKD kit built version of the
MetroRider known locally as the PekanRider. Kits
were produced for around 500 units for local
assembly but not all of these were completed. I
visited Malaysia in 1995 and they looked futuristic
alongside the other buses operating there at the
Charles Waggott, Director of Export Sales.
time. At much the same time, I remember seeing
the very basic Chinese chassis of a high floor bus
with four-cylinder Chinese built engine for Sri
Lanka in the Crossgates development shop. The
prototype was fully completed in Leeds.
There was talk of deals for CNG powered Excels
for Russia and India which David Hoy, who looked
after export sales at the time, put considerable significant Federal subsidies and plans to
work in on, but ultimately neither deal came off. manufacture at NABI's Anniston plant in Alabama
Further success came when Optare became were on the point of assembly starting when NABI
part of NABI in 2000, opening up opportunities in hit financial problems and sold Optare. Apart from
the North American market. American Eagle five remaining surplus stock units held at Leeds at
Airlines took no less than 75 of a special version the time, which were subsequently sold to Rice
of the Solo that was sold as the NABI 30LFN. The University of Houston, Texas, no more Solos have
exercise required extensive Americanisation of the been sold in America since.
Solo with everything assembled using imperial In the NABI era there were also sales of left
rather than metric fixings, a voltage converter was hand drive three door Excels, with steps at the
required to provide 12-volt feed for typical US third entrance, to the local operator near to NABI's
ancillary equipment
and the interior
would have looked
very utilitarian to
British eyes. The
demanding Altoona
testing process was
successfully
completed, which
was essential to sell
the product in
America. Miami Dade
County in Florida,
already a good
customer for NABI's
full sized buses, took
70 more Solos. Dollar This two door left-hand drive Solo was exhibited in Hungary at the opening
Thrifty Car Hire of NABI’s Kaposvar plant.
bought a further 15
with many more going in small batches and single new Kaposvar factory in Hungary. Somewhat
figures to other operators across America through bizarrely, these were followed by Excel body kits
a number of dealership arrangements with strate- that were mounted on step entrance Scania
gically located specialists. chassis.
In total, close to 200 Solos for North America Excels, this time with the steering wheel on the
were assembled at Crossgates and shipped to the right, were also exported to Malta, where I believe
USA as completely built up (CBU) buses. However, they insisted on manual transmissions. There are
the USA's 'Buy America' policy made CBU from the even a couple of Aleros operating in Bermuda.
UK more difficult as it did not qualify for It should not be forgotten that long before

Page 16 Bus & Coach Buyer 10 December 2010

004-047_BCB_1101 8/12/10 9:27 am Page 17
Optare was selling buses
overseas, East Lancs was
supplying buses from
Blackburn all over the
world. Ironically, it was
also ahead of Optare in
supplying electric buses
such as a 1957 order for
Colombo which called for
single deck Sunbeam trol-
leybuses.
In recent years, most
Blackburn built buses sold
overseas have been
Visionaire open toppers
for sightseeing work in
Europe, going to places The Visionaire open top development of the Olympus body is popular
for sightseeing. This one works in Luxembourg.
such as, Paris,
Luxembourg and Lyons, though there have also
been specialist three-axle Nordics for the
Scandinavian market.
Optare export sales have continued throughout
the last decade but have never got above 5% of
overall sales. Among the customers there have
been a small number of German buyers, mainly
for Solos but also for Tempo, the MCM dealership
in Denmark which has supplied 8.8m dual door
I don't know too much about this Dutch registered StarRider but Dave
Cole photographed it at work some years ago.
Solos to Arriva Denmark and Helsing¯r Tourist
Traffik for use in Copenhagen, and Reesby Buses
of New Zealand who have purchased half a dozen
SlimLine right hand drive 8.8m Solos for operation
on their Rotorua cityride eke-taone services.
Helsing¯r have a Solo in build at the moment and
are among a growing band of repeat export
customers.
In addition to new Solos in New Zealand, quite
a number of secondhand Excels are now
operating there. Last year, the first
Solos were supplied to Israel. DAN,
Israel's second largest operator,
took five air conditioned two-door
8.8m buses with MAN engines
which were supplied through CNEC
Ltd, the country's sole MAN
dealership. Feedback from the
operator since the vehicles entered
service has been very positive.
Director of Export Sales for
Optare is Charles Waggott, who
was previously a Regional Sales
Manager and took on the interna-
tional role after Jos Van Putten left
the company. Charles joined Optare
from MCV but has extensive This view gives an idea of just how comprehensive the left hand drive domination The Arriva buses have similarly
experience in export sales from his was when I visited Crossgates. There was nothing else in the finishing shop.
10 December 2010
m a n u f a c t u r e r
20 of which will carry a blue livery and the
remaining five a green scheme. They are being
purchased to meet the requirements of a new
operating concession that has also seen the
purchase of 51 Berkhof bodied VDL SB200s. In
the past, requirements for small vehicles were met
with minibus van conversions which did not last
the contract length.
The second order is from Arriva Netherlands
and calls for seven Solos to a largely similar speci-
fication. Production started in September and all
of the Solos in both batches have to be
operational on 12 December when the contract
commences.
All are standard width, at a nominal 2.5 metres,
with single doors. They have 21 fixed seats (Kiel
Lexxo for Syntus and Esteban Civic V3 for Arriva),
plus two tip ups and a standee capacity of an
time with ERF. He now looks after all 22 of the additional 20. The standee capacity would be
established Optare export markets. Exceptions are higher but under the European Bus Directive
Denmark, Israel and New Zealand which have EC2001/85 regulations to which they are certified
been retained by Group Marketing Manager, Steve a capacity of more than 45 would dictate a second
Johnson, because of his existing relationship with passenger entrance. In appearance they are
the customers involved. almost the same as UK buses save that they have
All other markets in the world are handled by a revised front light panel.
Ashok Leyland under the two company's recently Inside, the interiors are relatively plain, with
concluded agreement. 'We have a very close most seats trimmed in blue and the priority seats
working
relation-
ship with
Ashok
Leyland
said Glenn
Saint,
Optare's
Chief
Operating
Officer. 'We
have a
royalty free
licence
agreement
under
which we
can use
any Ashok One of the Syntus Solos on the line.
models and any Ashok developed in green. The interior is derived from that of the
modifications to our own models.' MkII Solo SR with up-lighting, shaped roof coves
Dutch deliveries and shaped handrails. It is in the area of the
driver's cab that UK bus drivers will notice the
The bulk of the left hand drive buses currently
biggest differences because the Dutch demand for
being completed are from two batches of 8.1m
creature comforts for the driver is much higher.
Solos for two Dutch customers. Based at
The partition behind the driver has been revised
Doetinchem in central Netherlands, Syntus has
and the upper section extended backwards by
ordered 25 with Euro5 Mercedes-Benz OM904
around 75mm into free space behind to give more
engines and Allison 2100 automatic transmissions,
room for the drivers seat, which is a fully air
suspended Isri unit, to be
adjusted. The Dutch standard cash
tray is a large unit with an
integrated touch screen. Optare
have fitted this on a sliding
mechanism so that it suits drivers
of all sizes. It is produced by
Fabtech of Scotland.
In addition to a CCTV system,
each Syntus bus has ProData
realtime messaging and
information system equipment,
and Init GPS location and vehicle
identification systems. On board
transponders activate traffic light
changes in favour of the Solos.
high specification systems though
Bus & Coach Buyer Page 17
004-047_BCB_1101 8/12/10 9:27 am Page 18
m a n u f a c t u r e r
in this case they are supplied by Albatross.
Other features include a Webasto pre-heater,
Thermo King air conditioning, a flip ramp with
Magnetic Maganalock system produced by
Premier Composites of Boston, and an
additional reversing lamp, with the rear fog
lamp mounted within the rear bumper. The fuel
filler is also revised and is designed to be spill
proof. Under the skin they have an enhanced
level of body insulation within the side and roof
framing. This option is offered in the UK but is
rarely specified.
Handling retail sales in the Netherlands is an
agent, Anton Bols Bus & Coach (ABBC), who
are very active on Optare's behalf.
Charles explained that with major contracts
in the Netherlands, it takes some time to get to
the order stage. The tenders come out very
early, usually around a year in advance of the
start date. Manufacturers get an enquiry early
and a decision early. The gestation period is
around three to six months and the buses go
into operation six to nine months later. Not only in 1992.
is the planning period longer, so are the contracts,
usually between eight and ten years.
There are more concessions coming up in the
near future so Charles is hopeful of more
business. He commented, 'we have quoted for 30
Of the 25 Syntus Solos, 20 will be blue and five will be green.
two-door 12m Tempos for one tenderer,' though
he admits that the fact Optare cannot currently
offer a three entrance option or a full low floor
rather than a low entry is a disadvantage.
An interesting aspect of the Syntus deal is that
it has agreed service contracts with
local commercial workshops to
look after the buses for the
duration of the contract. Some of
the Dutch fitters involved were at
Crossgates undergoing three days
of training when I was there.
Optare is putting in stock parts
consignments with them. In
contrast, Arriva will be undertaking
its own maintenance.
Range
In terms of the choice of models
offered for export, everything
offered in the UK will also be
offered abroad. The Solo and
Tempo are already engineered and
though the Versa is not yet tooled
for left hand drive production, it The Solo EV demonstrator is spending a month in Switzerland which will
will be. 'If we won an order for ten involve an appearance at a conference and demonstrations to operators.
Page 18 Bus & Coach Buyer
Seen prior to dispatch to Istanbul is one of the low height
Spectra bodied DAF DB250s for IETT that were supplied that, 'we haven't really started to market
vehicles it would be worth doing', said Glenn.
Not only will all models be offered, all of the been some interest in the previous Allison system.'
available engine options will also be made
available, which currently means MAN, Cummins
or Mercedes-Benz.
As well as the
single deck models,
Optare is keen to offer
double deckers. With
the new Optare
double decker
scheduled to make its
appearance during
2011, Glenn
commented, 'the
double deck market is
a developing one for
us.'
Green options
In the UK there has The partly completed interior of one of the Syntus Solos
been great interest in showing the green priority seats.
the wide variety of
green options Optare has
developed and is offering,
though, to date, it has not been these alternative
drivelines that have caught the imagination of
overseas customers. That said, there has been
interest shown in the all-electric Solo EV in
Switzerland and the demonstration vehicle is to
spend four weeks there. Its visit will include a
three-day appearance at a conference in
Lucerne in early December as well as trials
with various companies.
Asked about hybrids, Glenn said that there
had been recently been a big hybrid tender in
Belgium but that it had been 'a bit early for us.'
He continued, 'The key to exporting is to look
hard before you leap. There is no point in our
rushing in to every market unless we can
support it. As a longer-term prospect, we have
the intention to move into the German market
which has a lot of prospects. It is a market
more akin to the UK with a lot of independent
operators.'
There are already a small number of
German customers and one of them, BBG,
who already operate two 9.5 and one 10.2
metre variants, has placed a repeat order for
an 8.1m MAN diesel powered Solo that is
currently in build.
Commercial Director, Chris Wise, told me
hybrids yet. We didn't have the product until
we won the Manchester order, though there had
He stressed how important the Green Bus Fund
funding had been, saying, 'there is no way that
any manufacturers would be delivering hybrid in
the UK without GBF funding.'
He also observed that, 'specification for specifi-
cation, prices achieved abroad were much the
same as in the UK, though as the specifications
required were much higher, so were the prices.
'You can't supply into mainland Europe without air
conditioning,' he said. 'They want a lot of special
equipment, special doors, and bespoke
housings for cash boxes.'
Although the specifications are
different, the bulk of the manufacturing
process is exactly the same and they go
down the same lines, Colin Childs,
Optare's Head of Special Projects
explained, 'It is at the end of the line
with all of the special electrical systems
that they are most different.'
Ongoing
Optare has done very well with
exports this year and the pound still
gives an advantage over the Euro, but
there is no complacency about the
future, especially as there are, as yet, no
confirmed export orders in the book for
2011, although there are a number of
strong prospects. The target for the
coming year is that exports will make up
10 December 2010
004-047_BCB_1101 8/12/10 16:24 Page 19

m a n u f a c t u r e r

at least 25% of total sales. To encourage requirements was that the Solos should meet R66 it has been sold to a Dutch customer.
additional sales, Charles Waggott has been estab- rollover regulations, which, after some Last word
lishing agreements with distributors in a variety of development work, the vehicle does. It also means
markets, both in Europe and beyond. that UK operators could specify R66, though The heightened export interest has come at an
whether there is any point in doing so in order to opportune time for Optare with UK demand at a
Some of these arrangements are with
be able to travel at 62mph is debatable. very low ebb. Following on behind the current
companies that will already be known to UK
exports, the first of a batch of right
readers. In Italy, Optare's sales are to
hand drive 7.8m Solos was to be seen
be handled by Sitcar, well known
in the framing shop, while dotted
already in the UK for its range of mini
around the plant there were a
and midi sized coaches, which are
number of other vehicles for UK
handled through the associated
customers including a 7.8m Solo for
Moseley companies. Near the
Regal Busways, a 9.6m seatbelted
beginning of the line was a two door
Solo SR for MacEwans, a pair of
8.8m Solo that will go to Sitcar for
short Solos with 95kW engines for
use as a demonstrator. It featured 19
Pembroke County Council and a batch
fixed Fainsa Cosmic seats and five
of three Tempos for the University of
tip-ups as Italy is a market noted for
Wolverhampton. There are other
higher standing capacities.
positive signs for the company,
Appearing at the FIAA show in
among them the signing of a long-
Madrid was the right hand drive
term deal with trent barton and
8.9m Solo SR 33-seater seen in
additional orders from Transdev.
Birmingham two weeks previously.
On top of the home market and
This was as a result of a tie up
Charles' successes in Europe there is
between Optare and Unvi, which will
what Glenn Saint describes as, 'a will
see the company known in the UK
to push Optare into more global
for its Cimo and Riada models
Destined for the Italian market where it will be Sitcar's demonstrator is this markets through contacts we have
among others, promoting Optare
dual door left hand drive Solo. with Ashok Leyland. They will take a
sales in the Iberian market.
A two-door left hand drive Solo demonstrator little time to develop. Initially they will
By the time you read this the first Solo for
was built some time ago and displayed at the be UK built but in the longer term, where con-
South Africa will have been despatched. This is an
Kortrijk show in 2009. It is currently in Dubai struction takes place will depend upon the
8.9m Solo SR with Euro3 standard Mercedes-
where it appeared at a trade show and has markets. There is a will to promote locally.'
Benz engine which has been imported through
Busmark, a dealership that is looking to upgrade completed subsequent demonstrations with By Stuart Jones
the image of the bus in the country. One of the Ashok Leyland and is now scheduled to return as

SEASONS GREETINGS TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS AND WISHING

YOU A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.
 

 
  
 

 
  
 
 
 
  

10 December 2010 Bus & Coach Buyer Page 19