Family - Setra

06 | Setra Best in Class
Setra Family News | 07
20 years of coach manufacturing in Neu-Ulm:
A double anniversary at the EvoBus plant
The Neu-Ulm coach assembly plant is impressive from any point of view: 52,000 coaches completed
since 1992, 3,800 employees, 640,000 m 2 of space – and 2012 marked the 20 th anniversary of
coach production. What began as the Kässbohrer Fahrzeugwerke GmbH has grown into the very
exceptional EvoBus success story.
B
ack in 1983, the first steps for planning a new coach
manufacturing plant were taken, since the original plant’s
capacity in Ulm was no longer sufficient. In August 1990,
the first groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the new
plant in Neu-Ulm took place. Just two years later, on October 5,
series production began. The new plant cost the former Karl Kässbohrer
Fahrzeugwerke GmbH close to 175 million German marks –
an huge investment at the time, but one that would most definitely
pay off over the long run. Three years following the beginning of
production, Mercedes-Benz and Setra came together and formed
EvoBus. This merger represented the dawn of a collaborative effort
which has since then taken on a leading industry role in terms of
development, production, sales and service, as well as safety and
environmental technologies.
Since 1995, the Daimler company has invested 190 million euros in
the new manufacturing facility. For instance, power such as light,
water or heating, was supplied via ceiling lines, so that assembly
processes and material flow were not impeded. In addition to
assembly, the Neu-Ulm plant houses seat production as well as the
“paint expertise center”, in which some 300 employees carry out
all painting assignments for EvoBus.
At the end of 2012, EvoBus celebrated yet another anniversary: the
50,000 th painted coach. The guest of honour was a Setra S 417 HDH
owned by the Belgian tour operator Voyages Léonard, whose elaborate
design called for high-level attention to detail. While the paint
robot took on the base silver paintwork, the colour transition from
silver to green and the yellow motif were lovingly designed by hand.
On December 20, 2012, the customer took delivery of the anniversary
coach during a festive get-together. The Voyages Léonard
fleet now includes 30 Setra coaches.
Romania – the ComfortClass 500 roadshow:
All across the country
Interest in the new ComfortClass 500 is huge, especially after the spectacular world premiere at the
IAA in September 2012. In order to give as many customers as possible an opportunity to experience
the coach live, a roadshow through all of Europe was planned. The first ComfortClass 500 tour led
to Romania.
T
he roadshow was organised by EvoBus Romania and the
S 515 HD visited five cities across the country. Befitting the
first stop was the Romanian capital. Setra customers from
Bucharest and several trade journalists enthusiastically participated
in a test drive through Bucharest and its surroundings. The
roadshow then travelled across the whole country. First to Sibiu at
the edge of the Southern Carpathians, then further on to nearby
Alba Iulia, then to Bistrita ˛ in Transylvania, to the westernmost Lipova,
and finally to Timisoara, ˛ the country’s second largest city. This
marked the final station of a successful debut tour for the new
Setra series in Romania.
Fuel consumption is key
The Romanian bus operators were all fired up and ready to test
drive the S 515 HD. According to Bogdan Aldea, Sales Manager
Coaches, they were very taken by the coach’s modern design, its
technical functionality and excellent comfort. “The new, clearly laid
out cockpit was especially praised,” says Bogdan Aldea. More than
anything, however, they were impressed by the low fuel consumption,
which is a decisive decision-making factor among Romanian
customers. Many also took advantage of the opportunity to speak
about financing options with representatives from Mercedes-Benz
Financial Services.
All in all, it would appear very likely that the ComfortClass 500, after
its five-day visit last October, will soon be returning to its new
home in Romania.