Motor Coach Industries

*This article is about the bus manufacturer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. For the Amtrak station in Michigan City, Indiana, see Michigan City Amtrak station. For the airport with IATA identifier MCI, see Kansas City International Airport.*

**Motor Coach Industries International Inc.** (MCI) is a brand name for buses manufactured by New Flyer Industries, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. MCI specializes in manufacturing commuter and charter motorcoaches. The company has a strong presence in Canada and the United States with a few exports to other countries. MCI was merged into New Flyer Industries in 2020.

## History

MCI's founder Harry Zoltok immigrated to Canada from Russia in 1928 and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1932, he partnered with Fred Sicinski and established a vehicle servicing company called the Fort Garry Motor Body and Paint Works, Ltd. A year later, they developed an 11 passenger body built on a Packard chassis.

Focus began to shift toward building their own intercity bus chassis and bus bodies. The company was renamed Motor Coach Industries (MCI) in 1941.

In 1948 Greyhound Lines of Canada at that time MCI's major customer, became a majority shareholder, purchasing 65 percent of the company. MCI was able to grow at a more rapid rate. In 1958 Greyhound Lines purchased 100 percent of the company. A manufacturing facility was established five years later in Pembina, North Dakota. Facing capacity constraints in the early 1970s, a subsidiary called Transportation Manufacturing Corporation was established in 1974 to manufacture coaches for Greyhound.

MCI purchased the transit division of General Motors (GM) in 1987. GM had decided to exit the bus manufacturing business. The manufacturing rights of the Rapid Transit Series (RTS) were transferred to TMC, and the RTS was produced in New Mexico. MCI produced the Classic in Canada.

In 1993, MCI became an independent corporation called Motor Coach Industries International Inc. It merged with DINA S.A. of Mexico the following year. MCI soon offered the Viaggio 1000 DOT for sale in the United States and Canada. It was manufactured in Mexico and used a DINA chassis with Marcopolo body. In the late 1999s MCI and DINA developed a new integral coach that would be manufactured in Mexico. This was the 35-foot MCI F3500. A longer intercity coach known as the G4100 and G4500 was also developed.

In 2000 DINA S.A. sold its holding in MCI to a private investment company. MCI retained the manufacturing facility in Mexico. However in 2003, it was closed. MCI invested further in their Winnipeg and Pembina facilities, increasing production by 2006.

In 2012, Daimler announced they were restructuring their operations in North America. Production of Orion transit buses were discontinued, and a distribution rights agreement for Setra coaches was signed with MCI. In addition, Daimler took a 10 percent minority ownership stake in MCI.

In November 2015, New Flyer Industries announced its purchase of MCI for $445m USD.

While New Flyer acquired 100 percent of the company, the distribution rights agreement with Daimler remained in effect. However in January 2018, New Flyer announced that the agreement would be terminated effective June 29, 2018. MCI had only sold 282 new Setra coaches, but had upgraded and expanded their own offering. Daimler believed that MCI's product offering began to overshadow the Setra offering. Distribution rights of Setra coaches was transferred to the REV Group. Parts sales, service and warranty support for Setra coaches in service remain with MCI until mid-2018.

In summer 2020, the merger of MCI and New Flyer into one company was announced. Though the company's corporate name will be New Flyer, the MCI brand will continue to appear on the commuter and luxury coaches.

## Facilities

### Service Centers

* **Bay Area/Northern CA** (4120 Point Eden Way, Hayward, CA)
* **Blackwood, NJ** (14 Harmon Dr.)
* **Collision and Refurbishment Center** (480a Hartney St., Arnprior, ON)
* **Dallas, TX** (9787 Clifford Dr.)
* **Des Plaines, IL** (200 East Oakton St.)
* **Lebanon, TN** (215 Maddox Simpson Parkway)
* **Los Angeles Area/Southern CA** (2880 East Jurupa St., Ontario, CA)
* **Montreal, QC** (3500 Rue St. Patrick)

## Model designations

After the original numbered *Courier* and *MC* models, MCI adopted letters for the different series of coaches. Two different schemes have been used:

**1985–2001**

* D and E series only

**W** = wheelchair lift-equipped
* A and D series only
**SS** = stainless steel
 Example: 102-DL3SS

**2001–present**

 Example: D4500CT

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 MCI celebrates 80 years of bus production. *National Bus Trader*. 01 June 2013.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 A rich heritage in coach building excellence
3. ↑ NEW FLYER ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF MCI, NORTH AMERICA’S LEADING MOTOR COACH MANUFACTURER, PARTS AND SERVICE COMPANY, NewFlyer.com, retrieved 10-11-2015
4. ↑ MCI To Cease Distributing Daimler’s Setra Coaches. Press release. 04 January 2018. New Flyer Industries.

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