Orion Bus Industries

Orion Bus Industries
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Bus building
Founded	1975
Defunct	2013
Fate	Voluntary closure/market exit
Headquarters	350 Hazelhurst Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5J 4T8
Area served	Canada, United States
Key people	Rich Ferguson (CEO)
Products	Transit buses
Owner	Daimler AG (2000-2013); New Flyer (2013-present; aftermarket business only)
Number of employees	1,400 (US and Canada)
Parent	New Flyer (aftermarket business only)
Website	www.orionbus.com

Orion Bus Industries and Ontario Bus Industries in Canada and Bus Industries of America in the United States, was a bus manufacturer based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and established by the Government of Ontario in 1975. The company had assembly plants in Mississauga for initial assembly, and in Oriskany, New York, for final assembly and testing of vehicles destined for US markets.^{[citation needed]}

Corporate history

Privatized in 1993, Orion was acquired by Daimler Chrysler (now Daimler AG) in July 2000, and became part of the group Daimler Buses North America.^[1]

On April 25, 2012, Orion International ceased taking orders for new buses, and the Missisauga plant was scheduled to close once outstanding orders were fulfilled.^[2]

The Oriskany plant was initially retained for aftermarket support only.^[3] Following the sale of that business to New Flyer (which also acquired some of Orion's outstanding orders at the time of shutdown), the fate of the New York location remains unclear although it is still currently^[when?] performing repairs, including a retrofit program with BAE Systems for recalled hybrid-electric buses using BAE's HybriDrive system.

The sales and closures are part of the closure of Daimler Buses North America; only Daimler's imported Setra buses will continue to be marketed although North American distribution will be taken over by Motor Coach Industries (MCI). Production of Daimler Buses North America's Sprinter shuttle buses will be moved to other facilities. It was announced that more than 530 workers will be laid off in the Mississauga and Oriskany plants. The Mississauga workers staged a wildcat work stoppage to protest in employee frustration at the slow pace of winding-down talks.^[4]^[5]

Oriskany was the head office for part department to support Orion bus operators until New Flyer acquired the after market business from Daimler Buses. MCI, which acquired the distribution rights for Setra buses, has also since been purchased by New Flyer.

Product lineup

Orion manufactured a number of different models of buses over its 37-year existence. A list of models is given below; each increasing number is the next generation model.

Most buses today in service are of the Orion V or VII models.

Model	Length & Width	Produced	Fuel type
Orion I	31 ft (9.45 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 37 ft (11.28 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 40 ft (12.19 m) • 96 in (2.44 m)	1977–1993	Diesel Compressed natural gas
Orion II	21.92 ft (6.68 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 25.92 ft (7.90 m) • 96 in (2.44 m)^{[citation needed]}	1983–2003^{[citation needed]}	Diesel Compressed natural gas
Orion III Orion-Ikarus 286 (bodies and chassis made by Ikarus to form the Ikarus 286 model, marketed as the Orion-Ikarus)^[6]	60 ft (18.29 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)	1986–1989	Diesel
Orion IV	Tractor: 37.5 ft (11.43 m) • 98.75 in (2.51 m) Trailer: 35.5 ft (10.82 m) • 98.75 in (2.51 m)	1985-1986, 1988–1989	Liquefied petroleum gas
Orion V	32 ft (9.75 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 40 ft (12.19 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 40 ft (12.19 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)	1989–2009	Diesel Compressed natural gas
Orion VI	40 ft (12.19 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)	1995–2004	Diesel Compressed natural gas Diesel-electric
Orion VII	32.5 ft (9.91 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 40.5 ft (12.34 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)	2001–2007 (original)
		2007–2011 (Next Generation)
		2010-2013 (EPA10)