%2c_12_November_2006_(08)_(cropped).jpg) PreservedLancashire United Transport Northern Counties bodiedDaimler Fleetline | |
| Company type |
|
|---|---|
| Northern Counties | |
| Industry | Bus manufacturing |
| Founded | 11 November 1919; 106 years ago (1919-11-11) |
| Founder | Henry Lewis |
| Defunct | 1999; 26 years ago (1999) |
| Fate | Merged intoPlaxton |
| Successor | TransBus International |
| Headquarters | , England |
| Parent | Greater Manchester PTE (1983–1991) Henlys Group (1995–1999) |
TheNorthern Counties Motor & Engineering Company was an English builder of bus and coach bodywork based inPemberton inWigan,Greater Manchester.
Northern Counties Motor & Engineering Company was founded inWigan on 11 November 1919 by Henry Lewis. The Lewis family remained owners of the company until it was bought out over seventy years later. As was common at the time, early products were bodywork and repairs for private automobiles together with a tyre fitting service. By the early 1920s, the private automobile work had ceased and the manufacture of bodywork for service buses commenced. Bodywork was for both single and double deck vehicles. Very fewcoaches were produced.
DuringWorld War II, Northern Counties was authorised by the government to produce bus bodies to a utility specification, mainly using steel-framed construction.
Northern Counties established a loyal client base and reputation for quality construction in the post-war years. Notable clients included local operatorsSHMD Board,Manchester Corporation andLancashire United Transport. Further afield,Barton Transport andSouthdown Motor Services were among a number of regular customers.
In 1967, fellow bodybuilderMassey Brothers, located in nearbyPemberton, was acquired and became a part of the Northern Counties operations.[1] The Massey factory was retained and used as a paint-shop and for final completion of bodywork assembled at Wigan Lane.
TheTransport Act 1968 merged the municipal corporations ofManchester,Salford,Bolton,Oldham,Stockport,Rochdale,Bury andStalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield Joint Board (SHMD Board). The resulting conglomerate was known as theSoutheast Lancashire Northeast Cheshire Passenger Transport Authority, commonly known as SELNEC. SELNEC was faced with a fleet of 2,500 vehicles consisting of a wide variety of types and manufacturers, reflecting the preferences of their former municipal owners. Northern Counties worked closely with SELNEC to develop a standard bus for fleet replacement.
TheLocal Government Act 1972 came into effect on 1 April 1974. This reorganisation addedWigan Corporation Transport to SELNEC to create theGreater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive that was the largest bus operator outsideLondon untilprivatisation in the late 1980s. A large proportion of Northern Counties production after this time was for theGreater Manchester fleet.
In 1975 the company collaborated withFoden, a well-known manufacturer of commercial vehicles, to produce a semi-integral double-deck vehicle named theFoden NC, intended to compete with chassis manufacturerLeyland.[2] Leyland had merged with traditional rivalDaimler and was experiencing production and quality problems. In the event, only sevenFoden NCs were produced, going to thepassenger transport executives ofGreater Manchester, theWest Midlands andWest Yorkshire,Derby City Transport andNational Bus Company subsidiaryPotteries Motor Traction.[3]
In June 1983, theGreater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE), a major customer of 'GM Standard' bodies for a double-decker fleet mainly consisting ofDaimler Fleetlines andLeyland Atlanteans, purchased a 49% shareholding in Northern Counties.[4]
In May 1991, amid a severe downturn in bus and coach sales due to theearly 1990s recession, a lack of customer confidence due to the after-effects ofbus deregulation and the company exceeding its £500,000overdraft, Northern Counties was placed intoadministration by GMPTE. Half of the 304 staff at the Northern Counties plant were made redundant within a week of administratorsGrant Thornton being appointed, and it was estimated that the company would remain in business fulfilling existing orders until the following August.[5][6] Following an advertisement being placed in theFinancial Times newspaper, 50 bidders registered their interest in purchasing Northern Counties,[7] and by September, with new orders still being placed for bodies by customers, the expected cessation of the company had been pushed back to March 1992 after the administrators had cut costs and reassured the company's 300creditors.[8][9]
By January 1992, Northern Counties had a full order book that included orders fromLondon Regional Transport subsidiaries, had agreed outside contracts to respray vehicles owned byBritish Telecom,Post Office Limited andLynx Express, and had launched theCountybussingle-deck bus body (later renamed 'Paladin') at the Coach & Bus '91 expo, held at theNational Exhibition Centre inBirmingham, with the company's largest ever show stand.[9][8] After over a year in administration and with up to 100 employees previously laid off having been rehired,[10] Northern Counties was sold by Grant Thornton in August 1992 to amanagement buyout worth £1.9 million (equivalent to £4,966,000 in 2023).[11][12] Shortly after the buyout, Northern Counties revealed its restyledPalatine double-decker bus bodywork, known as the 'Palatine II'.[13]
In May 1995, Northern Counties was purchased for £10 million (equivalent to £24,281,000 in 2023) by theHenlys Group, the parent company ofScarborough-based coach bodybuilderPlaxton.[14] Following the purchase, Northern Counties launched thePaladin LFlow-floor single-deck bus body at the Coach & Bus '95 expo,[15] however production was moved to Plaxton's Scarborough factory in 1997 and the bus rebadged to thePlaxton Prestige.[16] The Northern Counties name was dropped in 1999,[citation needed] however the company's factory was still maintained by Plaxton as a base for manufacturing the low-floorPlaxton President, itself a direct successor to Northern Counties' Palatine.[17]
In 2000, Henlys entered ajoint venture with the Mayflower Corporation, owner of bodybuilderAlexander and chassis manufacturerDennis Specialist Vehicles, resulting in the formation ofTransBus International.[18] On 31 March 2004, however, TransBus International was placed into administration,[19] resulting in administratorsDeloitte making 72 workers at the Wigan plant redundant.[20] Though TransBus International was successfully purchased by a consortium of buyers and restructured intoAlexander Dennis, initially saving 200 jobs at the Wigan factory,[21] on 26 January 2005, the former Northern Counties plant was closed by Alexander Dennis after completing outstanding orders of Plaxton President bodies for London bus operatorMetroline.[22][23]
Northern Counties mainly specialised ondouble-decker bus bodywork, although it began to diversify intosingle-deck bus bodies as well asminibus bodies on van-derived chassis, all named 'Countybus', followingbus deregulation in Great Britain.[24] From 1992, Northern Counties renamed their bodies:[25]
The last of the high-floor Paladins are now being finished, and all lowfloor Paladins - built on DAF SB220L - change name to Prestige.
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