Orion International

Subsidiary
Industry Bus building
Fate Voluntary closure/market exit
Founded 1975
Defunct 2013
Headquarters Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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 Bus Industries and Ontario Bus Industries in Canada and Bus Industries of America in the United States, was a privately owned bus manufacturer based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

The company had the main manufacturing plant in Mississauga and sent bus body shells to their plant in Oriskany, New York, for final assembly and testing of vehicles destined for US markets.

Corporate history

The company was founded in Mississauga in 1975.

It was taken over by the Ontario Government in 1994 for loan arrears, Orion was sold in 1995 to Western Star Truck Holdings of Kelowna, which in turn was acquired by Daimler Chrysler (now Daimler AG) 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 Mississauga plant was closed 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 were part of the closure of Daimler Buses North America; only Daimler's imported Setra buses continued to be marketed on North America although distribution rights were taken over by Motor Coach Industries (MCI), which lasted until the end of 2017 when the REV Group took over distribution. Production of Daimler Buses North America's Sprinter shuttle buses was 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. MCI, which acquired the distribution rights for Setra buses, has also since been purchased by New Flyer.

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) 1984–1989
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
Orion VII 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)

 2007–2011 (Next Generation)
2010-2013 (EPA10)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Daimler Buses North America Archived 2006-04-04 at the Wayback Machine.
  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 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-28. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  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.

Hybrid buses

  • Hybrid buses.
  • "BAE HybriDrivePropulsion OverviewOrion VII Hybrid -Product Information" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-05-08.  (942 KB)
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