Американская корпорация AmTran: История школьных автобусов

Defunct American bus manufacturer
the now defunct school bus manufacturer

American Transportation Corporation (better known as AmTran) was an American manufacturer of school bus bodies. Tracing its roots to Ward Body Works (established in 1933), AmTran was formed in 1980 following the 1979 bankruptcy of Ward to continue bus production. In 1991, the company became a subsidiary of Navistar International, leading to a series of acquisitions of school bus body manufacturers by chassis suppliers during the 1990s. As with its predecessor company, AmTran corporate headquarters and manufacturing facilities were located in Conway, Arkansas. In 1999, the company opened an assembly facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2000, Navistar rebranded AmTran as part of International Truck and Bus, with vehicles taking on International branding. During 2002, the branding changed again, as the name was changed to IC Corporation (IC Bus since 2008).

During the late 1970s, the school bus manufacturing industry was in relative turmoil. From the early 1950s, the segment was dependent on student population growth related to the baby boom generation. By the beginning of the 1980s, the last of the generation had completed their secondary education, leading to a decrease in student population growth across the United States. At the time, Ward Body Works was among "the Big Six" full line school bus manufacturers (alongside Blue Bird, Carpenter, Superior, Thomas, and Wayne). The declining economy of the late 1970s also cut into the profitability of all school bus manufacturers. Of the "Big Six", Superior and Ward were the hardest hit. Following the 1975 closure of its secondary manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, Ward amassed over $20 million in debt by 1979.

AmTran buses were produced in the former Ward factory in Conway, Arkansas. In 1999, the company expanded production capacity as it opened a second facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Coinciding with the 2000 introduction of the IC series, the Tulsa facility became home to all conventional style bus bodies. The Conway factory remained in production, manufacturing the FE and RE Series transit style bus bodies. After AmTran became IC Corporation (later IC Bus), the Conway facility ended full scale bus production in January 2010 (following the discontinuation of the FE Series); originally repurposed for parts fabrication and production, the factory was sold off by Navistar in 2014.