Area served North America Founded 1971 Number of employees 900 | Parent organization REV Group, Inc. Number of locations 3 | |
Industry Manufacturing (Transportation) Owner Allied Specialty Vehicles Headquarters Hutchinson, Kansas, United States Subsidiaries Corbeil Bus Corporation, Mobile Products, Inc, World Trans, Inc, Mobile-Tech Corporation, Brutzer Corporation | ||
Collins Industries (or Collins Bus Corporation) is a Hutchinson, Kansas company that specializes in manufacturing of Type A and Type B school buses, and also manufactures ambulances and other special-purpose vehicles. The company was founded in 1971 and as of 1998 it was made up of four subsidiaries: Collins Bus Corporation, Wheeled Coach Industries, Inc.; World Trans, Inc. and Capacity of Texas, Inc. The company has about 900 employees, in three manufacturing facilities.
Contents
History
Collins purchased manufacturer Mid Bus in 1998. Since October 2006 Collins has been an 80-percent owned subsidiary of BNS Holding Inc. The company purchased the assets of Canada-based manufacturer Corbeil Bus Corporation in 2007. Collins was purchased by the investment group American Industrial Partners. In 2010, AIP combined Collins with Fleetwood Enterprises. E-One, and Halcore Group to form Allied Specialty Vehicles.
School Buses
Collins sells its buses under the Collins Bus, Mid Bus, and Corbeil names, with minor design differences in each line. All models are available on Ford or GM cutaway chassis.
On March 29, 2012, Collins released a new bus model, replacing the Collins Bantam series, the Mid Bus Guide series, and the Corbeil Quantam series of bus products. Now, all companies share the bus model name. The first Nexbus product came off of the Collins assembly line on May 16, 2012.
Nexbus SRW- A single rear wheel version of the Nexbus.
Nexbus DRW- A dual rear wheel version of the Nexbus
Nexbus Hybrid- A hybrid version of the Nexbus. It is available only on the Ford E-450 chassis. It was built in conjunction with Azure Dynamics.
Nexbus Propane- A propane fueled version of the Nexbus. It is available only on a GM chassis. It was built in conjunction with Clean Fuel USA.
Nexbus CNG
The Ford Transit Series replaced the Ford E-Series in 2015, although cutaway chassis versions of the E-Series are still available.
World Trans, Inc.
Based in Hutchinson, Kansas, World Trans is a manufacturer of commercial and shuttle buses.
Wheeled Coach Industries
Wheeled Coach is the world's largest manufacturer of ambulances and emergency service vehicles.
Capacity of Texas
Based in Longview, Texas, Capacity is the only U.S.-based manufacturer of terminal tractors. Originally known as "Trailer Jockey", Capacity was acquired by Collins in 1984
Lay-Mor
Based in Longview, Texas, Lay-Mor manufactures walk-behind and drive-on street sweepers. Purchased by Collins in 2000.
Retired Vehicles
Bantam - A Collins Type A bus model that was replaced by the Nexbus SRW. Single rear wheel bus available in capacities of up to 20 passengers. Known as the Guide by Midbus and the Quantam by Corbeil.
Bantam 422 - Another Collins Type A bus model that was replaced by the Nexbus SRW. Single rear wheel bus available in capacities of up to 20 passengers. Known as the Quantam 422 by Corbeil.
Grand Bantam - A Collins Type A product replaced by the Nexbus DRW. Dual rear wheel bus available in capacities of up to 35 passengers. Known as the Grand Guide by Mid Bus and the Grand Quantam by Corbeil.
Super Bantam - Another Collins Type A bus model replaced by the Nexbus DRW. Dual rear wheel bus available in capacities of up to 30 passengers. Known as the Super Guide by Mid Bus and the Super Quantam by Corbeil.
Bantam XL - A Collins Type B Bus model. It was available with 6 or 7 seating rows which can fit a maximum of 41 passengers. a Nexbus Replacement has yet to be produced.