Euro Bus Expo celebrates a boost in industry orders and visitors
1 November 2012 - Organisers of the coach and bus trade show, Euro Bus Expo, have heralded the event a success with an increase in visitor numbers and the announcement of industry orders worth around £250 million.
More than 9,200 industry professionals attended the three-day show held in Birmingham, UK – an increase of 5% since the last show held in 2010.
The event was opened by UK Transport Minister and MP, Norman Baker, who reinforced the importance of the biennial show to the coach and bus industry by using it to announce £20 million of government money for the fourth round of Green Bus Funding.
Among the manufacturers and suppliers using the show to announce orders was ADL which announced that it has won orders worth £220 million for almost 1,000 vehicles to be delivered in the next 18 months.
The Scottish-based company also announced that its coach builder in Scarborough had won a £13 million order to supply a fleet of 71 coaches to the UK Ministry of Defence. EvoBus (UK) announced a £7 million order for 30 Setra coaches for Shearings Group.
Leading industry figures attending the show included Shadow Transport Minister and MP, Lilian Greenwood and Senior Traffic Commissioner, Beverley Bell. Overseas visitors included a senior delegation led by the Minister of Transport for the Kingdom of Bahrain.
“The combination of a quality show, an increase in visitor numbers, some major orders, and the announcement by the Minister for new funding in the industry, makes Euro Bus Expo 2012 one of the most successful industry shows for some time,” said Show Director, Mark Griffin. “These are still challenging and tough times for the industry so we are delighted both with the support for the show from the 280 exhibitors and the tremendous response from industry professionals who took time out to come to Birmingham. The fantastic news of £250 million of business being announced this week will give a major boost across the supply chain in the bus and coach industry. I have no doubt that our industry will be able to create more jobs as a result of the business that will be forthcoming into next year and beyond which is fantastic news for the economy.”