NORTHERN IRELAND bus builders the Wright Group is celebrating a sizable order worth £55 million (€65 million) to supply 334 new vehicles to a top European transport group.
The Ballymena-based company will deliver 204 double-deck and 130 single-deck buses to German owned Arriva plc for use in Britain during 2011.
The Wright Group, founded in 1946, said the new business was “highly significant” and would provide a welcome boost for everyone in the family-owned firm.
Commercial director Sam McClaren said the order was particularly important in light of the “challenging market conditions” the company had faced over the last two years.
In 2009 the firm warned that 235 jobs were under threat after it lost out on a big order.
However a combination of cost-cutting, efficiencies and new contracts has enabled the firm to retain its staff. It exports buses from the North to customers in Europe, North America, Asia and the Republic.
The latest order will afford the Wright Group an opportunity to showcase its latest innovations for bus systems throughout the UK.
The new contract is likely to include an order for 184 of the Wrightbus Gemini 2 DL Double Deck, which incorporates the Northern firm’s “low height” technology to allow buses to use routes which have low bridges.
Many of the new buses will also feature technology pioneered by Wrightbus which makes them quieter and more environmentally friendly.
