Plaxton

Plaxton was a builder of bus and coach bodies, They was founded in 1907 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England by Frederick William Plaxton.

History

 Founded 
Plaxtons was founded in 1907 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire as a joinery workshop.

From 1908 to 1918, they were a building contractor and they built buildings in Scarborough.

After World War I they started to build automobile bodies for Rolls-Royce, Sunbeam, Daimler and Crossley chassis. 

In the 1920s to 1930s, they stopped making automobile bodies and started making coach bodies.

 Henlys 
In 1989, Plaxtons bought Henlys. Henlys owned 34 motor dealers, and they owned Coleman Milne who were makers of hearses and limousines.Plaxton in Henlys Group mega deal Commercial Motor 8 June 1989 

In 1989, the company was renamed from Plaxtons to Plaxton Group plc.Companies House extract company no 435086  Henlys Group plc formerly Plaxton Group plc formerly Plaxton plc formerly Plaxtons (Scarborough) Limited

In May 1992, the Plaxton Group plc had replaced all of their management and renamed the company from Plaxton Group plc to Henlys Group.

In 1995, Henlys Group purchased bus body maker Northern Counties for £10 million. Buses were still made with the Plaxton name.

In August 2000, Henlys and Mayflower Corporation joined together, Mayflower Corporation were owners of Dennis and Alexander (Dennis made buses, fire engines, lorries and dustcarts. Alexander made bodies of buses and coaches).Mayflower and Henlys burst past rivalry to merge UK bus building The Independent 2 August 2000 The joint venture was called TransBus International. Buses were made with the Transbus and Plaxton name.

Independent again
On 31 March 2004, TransBus International went into administration.Update: re Administration Mayflower Corporation 22 April 2004

On 17 May 2004, the Plaxton business was sold in a management buyout and they started trading as Plaxton Limited.Companies House extract company no 5101150 Plaxton LimitedMBO heralds TransBus deal by end of this week The Scotsman 17 May 2004

In May 2005, Plaxton announced its return to the bus market and they announced a new body of a bus called the Centro, the Centro was built on the VDL SB120 chassis, VDL SB200 chassis, MAN 14.220 chassis and Volvo B7RLE chassis.

Purchase by Alexander Dennis
In May 2007, Plaxton was purchased by Alexander Dennis.Plaxton bought by ADL  Bus & Coach Professional 14 May 2007Alexander Dennis buys Plaxton The Herald 15 May 2007 Buses were made with the Alexander Dennis name and Coaches were made with the Plaxton name.

In March 2024, Alexander Dennis announced it was going to start making battery electric buses, they also announced that Plaxton coaches would stop being made until 2026.

 Products 
 Current 

 Coaches 
 Cheetah XL minicoach
 Elite luxury coach
 Elite i inter-deck coach
 Leopard entry-level coach
 Panorama double-decker coach
 Panther mid-spec coach
 Panther Cub short-wheelbase coach
 Panther LE low-entry intercity service coach

 Buses 
After the Centro, Primo and Pronto was stopped being made, Plaxton do not make any of their own buses. the Plaxton factory at Scarborough does currently make the Enviro200 MMC and Enviro400 MMC buses for parent company Alexander Dennis.

 Past 
 Type A
 D Series
 Type F
 Type J
 K Series
 L Series
 M Series
 Q2
 Envoy
 Venturer I, II, III
 Crusader Mk I, Mk II
 Consort Mk I, Mk II, Mk III, Mk IV
 Highway – (single deck bus)
 Panorama
 Embassy I, II, III, IV
 Panorama I and Panorama II
 Panorama Elite, Elite Express
 Panorama Elite II, Elite Express II
 Panorama Elite III, Elite Express III
 Panorama IV (For Bedford SB and VAS)
 Derwent, Derwent II (single deck bus)
 Supreme I, II, III, IV, V, VI (1st version of Supreme for *Bristol LHS & Bedford PJK was to be known as Panorama Supreme)
 Viewmaster
 Bustler – (single deck bus)
 Paramount 3200, 3500, 4000, Mk I, Mk II, Mk III
 Plaxton Expressliner (Paramount III for National Express)
 Derwent 3000 – (single deck bus)
 Plaxton 321 (1989 version of the Duple 320 after takeover)
 Plaxton 425
 Verde – for rear engined Dennis Lance, Volvo B10B and Scania N113 single-deck bus chassis
 Excalibur – for Volvo B10M and Volvo B12T chassis
 Premiere – for Volvo B10M, Scania K93, Dennis Javelin chassis and others
 Prima – for Volvo B7R, DAF SB3000 chassis
 Prestige – left hand drive coach sold to France and Italy on Volvo B12R
 Prestige – single-deck bus based on Northern Counties design
 President – double-deck bus
 Beaver / Beaver 2 / Beaver 3 – minibus for Mercedes-Benz van chassis
 Pointer / Pointer 2 – for Dennis Dart/Dart SLF and Volvo B6/B6LE chassis
 Paragon – for Volvo B10M, B12M and B12B, Dennis R-Series, MAN 18.310 and Irisbus EuroRider
 Profile (10m and 12m) – for Volvo B7R and Dennis Javelin chassis
 Primo / Primo 2 – midibus based on the frame of Enterprise Bus Plasma
 Centro – for VDL SB120, VDL SB200, MAN 12.240, MAN 14.220 and Volvo B7RLE single-deck bus chassis
 Cheetah – for Mercedes-Benz Vario van chassis

References

 Brown, Stewart J (2007). Plaxton 100 Years: A Centenary of Innovation 1907 – 2007. Ian Allan. 
 Townsin, Alan (Editor) (1982). Plaxtons The Great British Coach Builders. Transport Publishing Company. 

Other websites


 Plaxton Body Styles 1946–1960 (John Kaye SCT'61) 
 Plaxton Body Styles 1960–1975 – Lightweights (John Kaye SCT'61)
 Plaxton Body Styles 1960–1975 – Heavyweights (John Kaye SCT'61)


Category:Alexander Dennis
Category:Coaches (bus)
Category:1907 establishments in England
Category:North Yorkshire
Category:British transport companies