busnews.com.au April 2018 ABC^9CUSTOM BUS SOLD - TELFORDS NEW OWNER
EXCLUSIVE: Custom Buses Holdings Pty
Ltd has been sold to Telfords Bus & Coach,
announced as of April 5
On 16 March 2018, Worrells Solvency
& Forensic Accountants successfully sold
the business of Custom Bus Australia Pty
Ltd to Telfords Bus & Coach, part of the
Dunn Group and a leading Australian bus
and coach charter company supplying
transportation since 1978.
While several offers were received by the
Administrators – Simon Cathro and Aaron
Lucan – in the weeks preceding the sale,
the Telfords offer provided the highest
return to creditors and achieved the aim
of saving an Australian manufacturing
business integral to the local economy.
Custom Bus is a manufacturer
operational since 1955, which has focused
on building high-quality buses for the
Australian transport industry. In recent
years, it has primarily built buses for use by
the New South Wales and South Australian
Governments. In the coming weeks, the
business will be moved from its current
location to a site in New South Wales that is
more suitable for Telfords operations.
With regards to the sale, Simon
Cathro stated: “We are happy to find a
buyer willing to purchase the businessin its entirety and continue to trade the
operation. It was also pleasing that Telfords,
who is a successful Australian operation,
will see the business continue to operate in
Australia, supporting local jobs”.NEW SETRA S 531 DT DOUBLE-DECK MEETS THE MEDIA!GERMANY: Daimler’s new Setra
S 531 DT double-decker bus has
been unleashed upon European
media, who are lapping up
a range of new features and
elegant styling cues.
Positioned and marketed
as a statement of “maximum
efficiency, variability, comfort
and safety”, it’s all wrapped up
in an exciting design, with the
S 531 DT of the TopClass 500
ilk said to ‘set new standards in
its class’.
Daimler says its “superlative
aerodynamics” will ‘enable this
impressive touring coach to
establish new fuel efficiency
records in its segment’.
Given the claimed flexibility
of the lower deck, it covers the
entire scope of applications in
touring and line service, the
company says. The interior
boasts an impressive standard
of comfort, from what we can
tell – as would be expected of
the marque.
Yet perhaps most striking is
the use of Active Brake Assist 4
and Sideguard Assist, marking
the world premiere for these
assistance systems in the bus
and coach segment, according
to Daimler.Above:
Active Brake
Assist 4,
Sideguard
Assist in a bus
for the first
time? The new
Setra S 531 DT
double-deck
has it.These systems, “further enhance
the already high standard of safety.
All of this is cloaked in a fascinating
design with its own, distinct stamp,”
the company states.A CLOSER LOOK
Active Brake Assist 4, Sideguard
Assist in a bus for the first time?
You betcha!
Daimler says thanks to group
technology, the premium brand’s
new double-decker comes standard
with long-life LED headlamps,
which are “easy on the eyes”.
The Active Brake Assist 4 (ABA
4) is being introduced in the bus
and coach sector for the first time
ever on board the S 531 DT. Inaddition to the previously available
functions – maximum full-stop
braking in response to stationary
objects and obstacles moving
ahead of the vehicle – it now also
incorporates pedestrian detection
with automatic braking response.
In addition, another world
premiere in the bus and coach
segment is the use of Sideguard
Assist for the blind spot, the
company says. It employs radar
sensors to monitor the lane to the
right of the bus along the vehicle’s
entire length. When the driver turns
off, the system warns of pedestrians,
cyclists, or stationary obstacles in
the turning path.
Now that’s pretty cool.