Neoplan USA: История американского автобусного завода

American transit bus manufacturing company
the defunct U. S. bus builder

Neoplan USA was a major transit bus manufacturing company based in Denver, Colorado. It started as a subsidiary of the German corporation Neoplan in 1981 with its main factory and headquarters in Lamar, Colorado. In 1998, Neoplan USA was acquired by Willis Stein & Partners and became an independent licensee of designs from the German company Neoplan. The company declared bankruptcy in 2006. The headquarters were moved to Denver in 2004. Neoplan USA also had production facilities in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania (1986), and Brownsville, Texas (2001–02); the Honey Brook site was retained as a parts distribution center.

Prior to opening its own factory, Neoplan broke into the United States transit market by licensing a 30 feet (9 m) long bus design to Gillig, who assembled and sold it as the Gillig Neoplan from 1976 to 1978. At the time Neoplan was better known for its intercity coaches rather than its transit buses. The company participated in the development of the VöV Standard Bus in the late 1970s and built transit buses for Saudi Arabia in 1979 and 1980. After announcing its intentions to build its factory, Neoplan USA began soliciting bids for transit buses. The city of Lamar, a farming town of 8,000 that faced tough economic times, pushed to have the plant built in the town in the hope of diversifying their economic base. It donated land and roads for the manufacturing site. The street that went to the plant was renamed Gottlob Auwärter Drive for the founder of Neoplan. Company officials reportedly sought a rural site "because of their conviction, based on experience in Europe, that rural workers have a better work ethic and are more reliable and productive employees". An additional incentive was the hot water supplied from the city's neighboring power plant to heat the factory. Neoplan started a program at the local community college to train workers, and trainee foremen were sent to West Germany for eight weeks; at the end of the overseas program, the foremen had to build a bus that would take them to the airport. When Neoplan USA opened in 1981, company officials said the plant would employ up to 500 people, and manufacture as many as 500 vehicles a year on two assembly lines. Their first contracts included 50 transit buses for Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) and 40 for the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS). Contracts for another 500 were being bid on. Another significant early contract was awarded for 1,000 "Transliner" buses as a pooled purchase coordinated by PennDOT in 1982 for 16 transit agencies in the state of Pennsylvania, primarily to PA Transit (410) and SEPTA (450), which led to Neoplan exploring locations for a second factory in that state. It was the largest single bus contract in the U. S. to date. The first buses, nicknamed "Pennliners", were delivered to Pennsylvania in October 1982, and were assembled in Colorado. Neoplan USA's share of the United States bus market was 1.3 percent in 1981, grew to 10.4 percent in 1982, and went to 25.2 percent in 1983 based on production orders. By December 1982, Neoplan USA had completed more than 250 buses. Neoplan USA showed a model of the bus assembly factory it planned to build in 1984, located in Honey Brook, a facility sited on By 1986, Neoplan USA had claimed 40% of the United States transit bus market. However, structural cracking issues would lead to a voluntary recall of buses in 1985.

Neoplan USA buses had a history of manufacturing defects. One Milwaukee transit official called Neoplan USA "totally disorganized" and lacking quality control. Neoplan USA stated it "has never, nor does it now, consider these cracks safety related" in its written response. In March 1985, Neoplan USA followed the recommendations of the NHTSA and recalled all 2,000 buses then in service nationwide. Neoplan USA continued to deny the cracks were safety issues.

In June 1983 76 Transliner buses from Neoplan USA were purchased by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) of Washington, D. C., for $12.5 million. Fairfax County Supervisor Joseph Alexander, a member of the WMATA Board and then president of the American Public Transportation Association, criticized the decision to proceed with Neoplan USA bus purchases, stating Neoplan USA buses were frequently defective and that other transit systems had filed complaints. Neoplan USA won the bid for Metro because they had underbid General Motors, a competing bus manufacturer, by $275,000. Metro officials were also given tours by Neoplan USA of their manufacturing facilities and were convinced to buy the buses afterwards. In March 1984 Metro found hairline cracks in 32 Neoplan USA buses. The cracks were in the undercarriage of the buses, " in a weld joining a steel frame above the rear axle with a component that helps support the bus suspension system." At the time, the cracks were not judged to pose significant a safety hazard. On December 23, 1984, a Neoplan USA bus in operation was destroyed in a fire, caused by a faulty electrical circuit. A NHTSA investigation found the fire was due to excessive amperage in a protective circuit breaker and an absence of a cutoff switch. In February 1985 cracks were found in all of the remaining 75 Neoplan USA buses in service in D. C. These cracks were near the front axles and could have led to loss of steering control. Other cracks were found in steel plates, tubes and welds. This led to Metro halting the service of all Neoplan buses, which mainly served the southeastern Washington, D. C., area. Neoplan USA president Robert Lee pledged to repair the buses at the company's expense, saying it was a minor repair that did not create safety problems. In May 1985 an agreement was reached for Neoplan USA to pay for repairs to Metro buses, costing about $1 million. Neoplan USA was criticized for failing to meet deadlines agreed to with the authority. In a letter dated May 3, 1985, Neoplan USA stated there "is no safety related basis for the vehicles currently being held out of service", adding the actions by Metro were "unreasonable and unjustified."

Since the early 1980s Neoplan USA assembled buses for Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD), which later became the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA). In September 1984, like the buses sold to WMATA, cracks were found in 128 SCRTD Neoplan USA buses, and more cracks were found in 92 buses through February 1985. In the 1990s, Neoplan USA had a high rate of problems occurring in many of its methanol and ethanol fueled buses. On January 4, 2000, a report by LACMTA Inspector General Arthur Sinai cited multiple issues with 250 new Neoplan USA buses delivered between 1997 and 1999. They included a dozen chronic defects on clutches, problems with exhaust pipes and engine oil reservoirs, failing door structures and defective wheelchair lifts. The report also noted that "none of these problems were remedied by the manufacturer." The report also noted problems went unfixed for long periods, and if repaired, were often performed at LACMTA expense instead of under warranty. Some warranty claims were refused by Neoplan USA due to lateness in processing complaints. The report also noted conflicts of interest with MTA inspectors. Three inspectors took jobs with Neoplan USA after leaving the LACMTA, with one of them working with Neoplan USA one month after their resignation. Many inspectors who traveled to the Lamar plant were caught falsifying travel and expense accounts for nearly $10,000 over a 7 month period ending in 1997. One LACMTA engineer accused of account padding was charged with grand theft in Los Angeles in 1999.

Buses delivered under the 1982 PennDOT contract were subject to premature corrosion and required costly repairs, prompting a state investigation. Port Authority of Allegheny County (PA Transit), serving Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, negotiated a settlement for $1.7 million in 1990 relating to the premature corrosion issues. Neoplan USA agreed to pay for repairs for buses under warranty, and compensated the Port Authority for additional costs associated with the defects on the buses. It was reported that these same bus models had undergone testing by the Federal Transit Administration in 1994 and 1995, and problems were detected in these tests. One bus broke down shortly after testing started in May 1994, after being driven 94 mile (151 km), and structural cracks were found after 482 mile (776 km). By the time testing concluded in May 1995 with 15000 mile (24140 km) accumulated, numerous cracks had been found in 10 different places in the steel frame, air cooler outlet and axle mounts. The repairs involved significant rework, adding plates and gussets to reinforce the existing structure. PA Transit retired its last Neoplan USA buses in December 2019.

The San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) began taking delivery of 230 Neoplan USA buses in April 2000, equipped with cleaner burning diesel engines. Residents complained about the noise from engine cooling system and called the new buses "screaming banshees", with tests showing noise levels of 88 to 90 dB, exceeding the 83 dB contract requirement. The engine cooling fan was modified and sound deadening material was added to reduce noise. The original fans also proved to provide inadequate engine cooling, requiring the installation of electric fans, consuming 32 labor hours per bus. By the end of 2001, the Neoplan USA buses for Muni were breaking down, with one driver declaring that "every one of those buses is a piece of garbage" and up to two per day required towing back to the bus yards. Articulated buses from Neoplan USA acquired by Muni in 2001 also exhibited issues, with the brake slack adjusters requiring replacement after 5000 mile (8047 km) of service, just 1/10th of the typical maintenance interval. Muni withheld the final payment to Neoplan USA for the 330 buses over a missed deadline to correct issues. After the June 30, 2005 deadline passed, Neoplan USA stated it could not continue its operations without payment and abandoned its bus overhaul yard in San Francisco in late September, leaving behind 98 unrepaired buses but taking all of its spare parts away.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) idled its entire fleet of newly delivered Transliner AN440LF low floor transit buses in July 2005 after discovering damage on 21 buses that had traversed the same massive pothole. The pothole damaged the torque rods connecting the steering and suspension linkages, leading to two steering related crashes. Additional cracks in suspension components were discovered in 2006 and 2007.

Neoplan USA was acquired by Willis Stein & Partners, a Chicago based private investment firm in 1998, making it independent of its German parent Neoplan, although one source states it was spun off in 1989. but that plant closed shortly afterward in June 2002 as part of a restructuring that began under new President John Russell, who came on board in April 2002. In 2003–2006 it also built 28 40 feet (12 m) electric trolley buses and 32 articulated dual mode buses for Boston's MBTA. Neoplan USA reached a peak of 625 employees and revenue of $810 million before it ceased operations in January 2006. On November 15, 2005, Neoplan USA announced it would close its Lamar plant on January 13 after failing to raise $10 million in new capital. Neoplan USA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2006, listing assets of $13.7 million and debts of $59 million. A manufacturing company based in Texas purchased the Neoplan factory in Lamar, promising to reopen in 2008. The company still technically continued to exist until selling its parts supply division, Neopart. Once Neopart was sold, in October 2007, Neoplan USA ceased to exist.