After John Pettit left school he undertook an apprenticeship as a painter decorator, but spent little time over the next decade plying that trade. Instead, he pursued a musical career that started in his homestate of WA and brought him to New South Wales playing piano and keyboard for cover bands and other groups throughout [...]
The Australian bus industry has much to be proud of when it comes to the quality of its products. Australian-built buses are renowned for their manufacturing excellence. The fact is, however, that almost all buses used in Australia are placed under punishing schedules on busy roads in unforgiving climates. The best engineering and construction in [...]
Volgren has promoted Brenton McCallum to Engineering Manager after Joaquim Gomes went back to Brazil to take up a new role as Engineering Manager at the Australian manufacturer’s parent company, Marcopolo, in Brazil. The change is part of a restructure of the engineering team that began at the start of the year with the appointment [...]
Marcopolo is set to launch the new Audace 1050 in Australia aimed at the school, charter and long distance coach sector. Available in either 57 fixed or 53 reclining seat models, both buses feature high levels of customisation and flexibility with options for toilets and wheel-chair lifts installed. Available to order exclusively to Australian operators [...]
Melbourne-based Ventura Bus Lines today took delivery of the first two Scania Hybrid Euro 6 route buses fitted with locally-built Volgren bodies destined for suburban and outer metropolitan route duties. These are the first Scania Hybrid buses to be delivered to a Melbourne Metropolitan Contract Bus Operator, and will be substantially quieter and with less [...]
The very first Transport for New South Wales Panel 3-compliant buses will take to the road this year. They will be operated not by a multinational transport business, but by Dion’s Bus Service, a family-owned company based in the Wollongong suburb of Fairy Meadow. Panel 3 of course, refers to Transport for New South Wales’ [...]
Ten years ago Paul Timu was working in construction when the industry hit a flat spot. He knew he needed to make a career change and, after speaking with a family member who worked at Volgren, he managed to get a job at the company’s Eagle Farm facility. “I was helping out in the chassis [...]
Nick Carnie’s Volgren story begins not on an assembly line or in a meeting with an engineer but at a university. It was while completing his Bachelor of Industrial Design at Monash University, one of Australia’s most highly regarded higher education institutions, that Nick was introduced to the bus body manufacturer. In 2010, Volgren approached [...]
Before he began his career at Volgren, Jim Pittas was a market gardener. Today, you’ll still find him every Saturday selling his family’s famous oxheart tomatoes at the Richmond Good Food Market, but he’s pleased that 70-hour farming weeks are behind him. “There was no family time; I was working Christmas Day. It was just [...]
You can read all about our parent company Marcopolo S.A. in this great feature story from Australasian Bus & Coach. For the full story click on the link below. Published: 26.8.2020 https://www.busnews.com.au/industry-news/2008/volgren-marcopolo-bus-connection-still-super-strong
Later this year, Peter Bromley will celebrate his 40th anniversary as a Volgren employee. In that time, he’s seen a lot and witnessed the company change dramatically. Peter came to Volgren as a first-class body maker – a professional vehicle manufacturer – and worked on VG06, the sixth bus ever made by Volgren. Since then [...]
Ross Herring has been at Volgren since the company was established. In fact, Ross’s career as a vehicle body maker pre-dates Volgren by three years. Apart from a brief departure in the 1980s, it’s been his professional home for his entire working life. Ross joined Grenda’s Bus Service as an apprentice in 1974 and by [...]
Marcopolo, Volgren’s parent company, has launched a range of global biosafety measures designed to limit the spread of coronavirus and improve the safety of passengers, drivers and the general public. Marcopolo BioSafe is a suite of products designed to make passenger travel safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The products include FIP (fog in place) OnBoard, [...]
The coronavirus pandemic has changed so much in Australia. In the short-term it’s altered how we work, how we travel and how our children are taught. But could it bring about more permanent changes? One thing that’s changed since the start of the year is the way Australians are talking about local manufacturing. COVID-19 has [...]
A focus on lean manufacturing and eliminating disturbances from the production line will allow Volgren, Australia’s largest bus body builder, to double capacity at its Dandenong manufacturing headquarters. Part of a company-wide transformation aimed at improving competitiveness and delivering more value for customers, the re-design has included a radical rethink of its production line, leading [...]
