Flyer Industries Limited*

Flyer Industries Limited specialize in the engineering, manufacture, and marketing of quality transit vehicles, both diesel and electric tracldess trolley coaches. Flyer is not the oldest bus manufacturer in North America nor is it the largest producer of buses, but Flyer has come a long way since the first coach was manufactured nearly 45 years ago.

Western Auto and Truck Body Works Ltd. was founded in 1930 by Mr. John Coval. With a handful of men Mr. Coval set out on a modest scale to construct truck and bus bodies. The company slowly and gradually expanded and with it grew a fine reputation.

In the early 1940’s, Mr. Coval was awarded a contract by the Canadian Government to build trucks. Over 12,000 truck bodies as well as 300 buses for troop transport were supplied to the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

In the early 1950’s, Western Flyer Coach announced the new West- ern Flyer Canuck. These new highway buses were tested on the rough roads and harsh conditions of the Northwest. They were custom built coaches, designed for the individual needs of the operator but still maintaining a standard design. These Canucks proved to be a great success and many of them are still in service.

In 1967, after being a manufacturer of intercity coaches for over 35 years, Flyer decided, after a thorough investigation of the market, to manufacture transit vehicles. Since then, Flyer has become a major coach manufacturing company, one of the two organizations engaged in the manufacture of transit buses in Canada.

Flyer’s first transit coach was a Series 700. Today, there are approxi- mately 600 of these vehicles operating across Canada, in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Vancouver.

Flyer has the distinction of being the only manufacturer of electric trolley coaches in North America. Spurred by rising fuel costs and environmental controls, many cities are rediscovering the advantages of the electric trolleys.

In 1971, Flyer Industries entered into a mutual design project with AM General Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Motors, and out of this was born the Series “800” coach.

*Submitted by the Company.

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