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Plaxton

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Plaxton
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryTransportation, manufacturing
Founded1907; 118 years ago (1907)
HeadquartersEastfield, North Yorkshire, England
ProductsBus and coach bodies
OwnerNFI Group
Number of employees
750
ParentAlexander Dennis
Websiteplaxtonlimited.co.uk

Plaxton was a builder of bus and coach bodies, They was founded in 1907 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England by Frederick William Plaxton.[1]

History

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G-Line Holidays Volvo B9R with Plaxton Elite bodywork in June 2011

Founded

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Plaxtons was founded in 1907 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire as a joinery workshop.

From 1908 to 1918, they were a building contractor and they built buildings in Scarborough.

After World War I they started to build automobile bodies for Rolls-Royce, Sunbeam, Daimler and Crossley chassis.

In the 1920s to 1930s, they stopped making automobile bodies and started making coach bodies.

Henlys

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First Bristol Dennis Dart SLF with Plaxton Pointer bodywork in Bath in October 2010
First London Dennis Trident 2 with Plaxton President bodywork at Upton Park station in July 2008
Southern Vectis Volvo B10M withPlaxton Premiere bodywork on the Isle of Wight in August 2011
JPT Bus Company MAN 18.240 with Plaxton Centro bodywork in Manchester in July 2008

In 1989, Plaxtons bought Henlys. Henlys owned 34 motor dealers, and they owned Coleman Milne who were makers of hearses and limousines.[2]

In 1989, the company was renamed from Plaxtons to Plaxton Group plc.[3]

In May 1992, the Plaxton Group plc had replaced all of their management and renamed the company from Plaxton Group plc to Henlys Group.

In 1995, Henlys Group purchased bus body maker Northern Counties for £10 million. Buses were still made with the Plaxton name.

In August 2000, Henlys and Mayflower Corporation joined together, Mayflower Corporation were owners of Dennis and Alexander (Dennis made buses, fire engines, lorries and dustcarts. Alexander made bodies of buses and coaches).[4] The joint venture was called TransBus International. Buses were made with the Transbus and Plaxton name.

Independent again

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On 31 March 2004, TransBus International went into administration.[5]

On 17 May 2004, the Plaxton business was sold in a management buyout and they started trading as Plaxton Limited.[6][7]

In May 2005, Plaxton announced its return to the bus market and they announced a new body of a bus called the Centro, the Centro was built on the VDL SB120 chassis, VDL SB200 chassis, MAN 14.220 chassis and Volvo B7RLE chassis.

Purchase by Alexander Dennis

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In May 2007, Plaxton was purchased by Alexander Dennis.[8][9] Buses were made with the Alexander Dennis name and Coaches were made with the Plaxton name.

In March 2024, Alexander Dennis announced it was going to start making battery electric buses, they also announced that Plaxton coaches would stop being made until 2026.[10]

Products

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G-Line Holidays Volvo B9R with Plaxton Elite bodywork in June 2011

Current

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Coaches

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Magical Mystery Tour Bedford VAL with Plaxton Panorama Elite II bodywork in Liverpool in 2004
Mercedes-Benz O303 with Plaxton Supreme IV bodywork in 1978
Woods of Leicester Volvo B10M with Plaxton Paramount II bodywork in Chester
First Bristol Dennis Dart SLF with Plaxton Pointer bodywork in Bath in October 2010
First London Dennis Trident 2 with Plaxton President bodywork at Upton Park station in July 2008
Southern Vectis Volvo B10M with Plaxton Premiere bodywork on the Isle of Wight in August 2011
JPT Bus Company MAN 18.240 with Plaxton Centro bodywork in Manchester in July 2008

As of 2021, the following models are being made:[11]

Buses

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After the Centro, Primo and Pronto was stopped being made, Plaxton do not make any of their own buses. the Plaxton factory at Scarborough does currently make the Enviro200 MMC and Enviro400 MMC buses for parent company Alexander Dennis.

Past

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References

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  1. ↑ Deakin, Tim (12 June 2019). "Plaxton launches own coach rally". routeone. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  2. ↑ Plaxton in Henlys Group mega deal Commercial Motor 8 June 1989
  3. ↑ Companies House extract company no 435086 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Henlys Group plc formerly Plaxton Group plc formerly Plaxton plc formerly Plaxtons (Scarborough) Limited
  4. ↑ Mayflower and Henlys burst past rivalry to merge UK bus building The Independent 2 August 2000
  5. ↑ Update: re Administration Mayflower Corporation 22 April 2004
  6. ↑ Companies House extract company no 5101150 Plaxton Limited
  7. ↑ MBO heralds TransBus deal by end of this week The Scotsman 17 May 2004
  8. ↑ Plaxton bought by ADL Archived 4 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 14 May 2007
  9. ↑ Alexander Dennis buys Plaxton The Herald 15 May 2007
  10. ↑ Williams, Mark (26 March 2024). "Not dead but resting". Bus & Coach Buyer. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  11. ↑ "Plaxton Coaches". Alexander Dennis. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  12. ↑ "Plaxton Profile brochure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2012.
  13. ↑ "Cheetah brochure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2012.
  • Brown, Stewart J (2007). Plaxton 100 Years: A Centenary of Innovation 1907 – 2007. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-3209-2
  • Townsin, Alan (Editor) (1982). Plaxtons The Great British Coach Builders. Transport Publishing Company. ISBN 0-903839-69-5

Other websites

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