Industry Transportation Services Bus sales (Blue Bird) Founded 1935 | Founder Lionel Girardin Headquarters Drummondville | |
 | ||
Products School buses
Commercial buses Divisions Micro Bird, Inc (joint venture with Blue Bird) Website | ||
Girardin Minibus Inc. based in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada manufactures buses exclusively for the smaller Type A market; these buses are based on chassis provided from Ford or General Motors. Girardin is also a Canadian distributor of Blue Bird school and commercial buses.
Contents
As production of the Corbeil brand has shifted south of the border to the Kansas facility of Collins Industries, Girardin is currently the lone Canadian manufacturer of school buses.
History
Girardin traces its roots to 1935, when company founder Lionel Girardin opened a used-car dealership and repair shop in St-Félix-de-Kingsey, Quebec. He expanded into new-car sales in 1953 by opening a Chrysler dealership. In 1958, Girardin entered the school bus market by becoming a school bus dealership.
In 1965, Girardin opened a bus dealership in Drummondville, Quebec; along with bus sales, Girardin converted vans into minibuses (some of the first Type A school buses). In 1981, a dedicated factory was built to keep up with demand; the factory was expanded in 1991 and again in 2000.
In 1991, Girardin Minibus introduced the MB-II and MB-IV school buses; from 1992 to 1999, these were distributed throughout North America using the Blue Bird by Girardin name. In 2005, the MB-IV was replaced with the G5, a redesigned dual rear-wheel Type A school bus.
In 2009, Blue Bird Corporation entered into a joint venture with Girardin to produce Type A school buses. Under the terms of the joint venture, Blue Bird's Micro Bird (in production since 1975) was phased out and replaced by Girardin-designed products built in Drummondville.
Joint Ventures
Girardin Minibus has twice entered into partnerships with a larger bus manufacturer; both have been with American manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation.
Blue Bird MB-II/MB-IV by Girardin (1992–1999)
From 1992 to 1999, Girardin and Blue Bird were in a partnership to sell the MB-II and MB-IV Type A school buses in North America. At the time, Girardin was little known outside of Quebec and Blue Bird's own Micro Bird was not available in the single rear-wheel configuration that the MB-II offered. After 1999, Girardin chose to market the MB school buses under its own brand name.
Micro Bird, Inc. (2009–present)
In October 2009, Girardin re-entered into a joint venture with Blue Bird. This partnership, named Micro Bird, Inc, resulted in the Micro Bird model being discontinued, as Type A school bus construction was transferred from Blue Bird's Georgia facility to Girardin's Drummondville facility. Type A school buses built by Girardin are now branded as Blue Bird Micro Bird by Girardin. The first ever Type A school bus built on Ford Transit chassis replaced the Ford E-series. Known as Micro Bird T-Series.