(^26) ABC October 2017 busnews.com.au
BUS BUSINESS VOLGREN TOUR
NSW. The Grendas saw the
Volvo chassis as the way of the
future for the bus industry and
a partnership was formed. The
Volgren name was a merger of
Volvo and Grenda.
At the same time, Volgren
commenced its relationship with
the pioneering Swiss company
Hess, which had invented an
extruded aluminium bus body
system. During this time – and
still now – most bus bodies were
made of steel.
All Volgren models continue
to be made with Hess aluminium
technology to this day – a system
known as Co-Bolt.
THE CO-BOLT SYSTEM
On a tour of the facility,
immediately evident is the
impressive factory ¿ ow process.
Smith explains each step and
how Volgren had developed
systems to ensure a safe and
smart workplace.
Most of these ef¾ ciencies are
due to the assembly ¿ ow process
developed by Volgren for all its
manufacturing facilities.
“It is a very simple system for
being able to build any type or
shape of bus quickly. There are
rolling Kanban trollies set up
with all parts in kit format, pre-
sprayed ready for assembly. Once
a trolley gets used, it is re-¾ lled,
ready for the next buggy. We are
embracing lean manufacturing
throughout our plants.
“The advantage of this system
is that, while previously a bus
would be assembled and then go
into the spray booth as a whole
vehicle, by assembling pre-
sprayed parts there is none of
the usual climbing on platforms
and masking processes needed
to paint the vehicle. This reduces
the safety risks in the workplace.
“All parts of our build process
are re¾ ned to be ergonomically
safe and smart, have a positive
work¿ ow and increase the safety
of workers.”
It seems this Co-Bolt system,
combined with Volgren’s
assembly ¿ ow process, has
advantages in both build time for
Volgren as well as the lifetime of
the bus for the operators.
MADE BY BUS PEOPLE
While at the Malaga facility, I
noticed a Volgren slogan that
read “for bus people by bus
people”. I asked Smith what it
means to the company.
“[It’s] very important because
it gives an insight into where
a lot of our design history has
come from. We were owned
by the Grenda family and they
operated many bus lines,” Smith
says. “This enabled them to input
a large amount of feedback and
information into the start of the
design process. It provides a
signi¾ cant advantage to design
the bus with a focus on the end
user operations.
“We have always aimed
for a product that is the most
serviceable and easy to repair.
We really have considered life
cycle costs and this is based on
the information we have from
being so heavily involved in
the industry.
“We are bus people, bus
operators and bus manufacturers.
Each part of that link to the
industry strengthens the
Above L to R: All
Volgren bodies
are made with
Hess aluminium
technology;
A shot of the
interioir during
the build process
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