Ward Body Works, Inc. (also known as Ward Industries and Ward School Bus Manufacturing, Inc.) is an American bus manufacturer. Headquartered in Conway, Arkansas, Ward specialized in yellow school buses, alongside buses for other uses. Founded in 1933 by D.H. "Dave" Ward, the company was family-owned for nearly its entire existence.
Among several innovations, Ward was the first manufacturer to perform a rollover test on a school bus, leading to changes in school bus body design.[1] In another industry first, Ward was the first manufacturer to assemble buses on an assembly line.[2]
In 1980, Ward filed for bankruptcy and was reorganized as American Transportation Corporation (AmTran), keeping the Ward brand name in use on school buses. In 1991, AmTran was acquired by Navistar International, leading to the retirement of the Ward brand name during 1992. The company currently exists as the IC Bus subsidiary of International (the successor of AmTran).
History
1933–1945
D. H. "Dave" Ward founded Ward Body Works in Conway, Arkansas, in 1933 when he "lowered the roof of a wooden bus for Mr. Carl Brady of the Southside Schools". Southside Schools were located about 15 miles north of Conway.[3] A blacksmith by trade, Ward grew his business primarily on body repair of bus bodies in the area.[4] In 1936, he built his first complete school bus body. One of the first manufacturers of the time to use all-metal construction, the first school bus made by Ward Body Works featured removable safety-glass windows and perimeter and center-mounted seating.[4]
In 1939, the company opened a 10,000 square-foot factory in Conway, Arkansas.[4] During World War II, along with supplying buses for the military, Ward built over 1000 different bodies of various types for the GMC CCKW cargo truck.[4]
1945–1950s
1940s Ward conventional body
Following the war, the company became one of the first bus manufacturers to expand outside of the United States, opening a satellite facility in Mexico City in February 1947; bus bodies from Conway would be shipped to Mexico to be placed on chassis for use internationally.[4] To expand capacity inside the United States, Ward opened a second, 71,600 square foot facility in Austin, Texas in March 1951.[4][5]
Despite expanding to 100,000 square feet, the original Ward factory in Conway was too small to keep up with demand; the company built an even larger, 114,000 square foot factory outside of the city in 1957; at any given time, 45 bus bodies could be on the 1,500-foot-long assembly line, producing up to 100 complete buses weekly.[5] Later in the 1950s, the company moved beyond its school bus roots, adding mass-transit and sightseeing buses to its product lineup.[5] Due to importation issues, the Ward factory in Mexico was closed in 1954.
In 1956, Ward became both a body manufacturer and an industry supplier, as the company created a subsidiary, C.S. Sash Company, which became a major aluminum window frame manufacturer for school buses.[4][5]
1960s
Mid 1960s GMC Ward conventional in Florida
In the 1960s, Ward Body Works began a series of updates that would modernize manufacturing and production. To catalog the various state and local regulations affecting school bus specifications, in 1964, company owner Charles Ward set up a computer mainframe (using IBM 360s).[1]
In the same year, Ward performed the first independent rollover test on a school bus, discovering issues related to structural integrity.[2] During 1967, the assembly line in the Conway facility was upgraded to a moving assembly line, a first in the bus industry.[2] In 1969, the recommendations from the crash test were published, finding that an inconsistent number of fasteners among manufacturers could lead to poor joint strength.[1] The findings would be used in part to government recommendations for school bus joint strength.[2] Following the 1968 retirement of Dave Ward, Ward Body Works remained a family-owned company, with son Charles Ward handling operations.
1970s
During the 1970s, Ward would become one of the largest school bus body manufacturers in the United States, with the company holding a 25% market share in 1973.[6] In 1970, the Austin plant was closed down and was replaced by an all-new facility in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.
To expand into small buses, Ward purchased Dallas, Texas-based manufacturer Coachette in 1973, moving their production into a separate facility in Conway.[5] Coachette was started in 1954 by Carl Graham, a former sales manager for Ford and Marmon-Herrington buses. Originally based on a 172-inch wheelbase Ford truck chassis, the 23-passenger mini-buses featured coachwork supplied by Ward's plant in Austin. Only 330 Coachettes were contructed between 1953 and 1969 when production ended, in part due to the closure of Ward's plant in Austin.[4] Additionally, the assembly line at the main Conway facility was upgraded and connected to an IBM 370 mainframe, as the company explored computer-based manufacturing.[2]
Coinciding with the new assembly line was the redesigned full-size conventional bus body, dubbed the Ward Volunteer. Aside from a redesigned windshield and the change in chassis suppliers, the Ward Volunteer shares many components with that of the IC Bus CE-Series produced today.[4] In 1976, Ward produced a prototype for the first full-size school bus with front-wheel drive, but the company was forced to abandon the project before producing the vehicle.
Company closure
Along with other school bus manufacturers, the late 1970s would prove to be a rough time for Ward, which had been renamed Ward School Bus Manufacturing, Inc. In 1975, the Pennsylvania plant was forced to close. As Ward faced declining demand for school buses, the company was over $20 million in debt; on July 25, 1980, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[4]
In August 1980, an investment group assisted by the then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton purchased the assets of Ward Industries; the only interests that the Ward family would keep in the new company would be in vehicle distribution. Though producing buses in the former Ward factory in Conway, the new company was officially known as American Transportation Corporation (AmTran), with school buses continuing the Ward brand name.
During the 1980s, AmTran expanded the Ward product line. In 1982, the Patriot semi-forward control bus and the Vanguard cutaway-van bus were added to the product line; in 1990, the front-engine Senator (later the AmTran Genesis) replaced the long-running President model line. In 1996, Navistar introduced the AmTran RE and three years later, the company redesigned its front-engine bus as the AmTran FE.[7] In 2000, the International IC were added to the product line[8] and in 2002, AmTran changed its name to IC Corporation.[9]
Products
Ward Body Works product line (before 1980)
Model Name
Production
Vehicle type
Chassis
Notes
Coachette
c.1973–1980?
Type B(integrated)
General Motors
Chevrolet P30
The Coachette was a Type B school bus sold by Ward after it acquired Coachette.[4]
In 1976, Ward built a prototype derived from body of the President. Using a modified IHC chassis, it was the first front-wheel drive school bus; it did not enter production.
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