15 Years Solaris: The Success Story Continues

Just 15 years after commencing operations, Solaris Bus & Coach today is one of the trendsetters of the European bus industry. Sustainable growth confirms the company’s market position with new record results. The Solaris range of electric mobility solutions demonstrates a spirit of innovation: on the road with trolleybuses, hybrid buses and new electric buses, on rails with modern low-floor trams.

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Solaris Bus & Coach today is one of Europe’s leading bus manufacturers, present in 24 countries, despite Solaris’s unparalleled success story only having begun as little as 15 years ago. On 22 March 1996, the first bus left the factory in Bolechowo, an event that marked the first step in the ambitious vision of company founders Krzysztof and Solange Olszewski.

Four Production Sites for Sustainable Growth

Besides the main facility at Bolechowo, there are today three other sites for bus and tram production in the Greater Poznań region. Two plants in Środa Wielkopolska use state-of-the-art technology such as laser cutting to supply the bodyframes for both buses and trams. Final assembly of rail vehicles then takes place in the Junikowo district of Poznań, while buses are finished at the Bolechowo headquarters. Having started off with just 36 workers in 1996, Solaris now employs more than 2,200 people, making the company one of the most important employers of the region.

During the first year, just 52 buses were sold to customers. Since then, this has risen sharply to as much as an expected 1,250 buses this year. Solaris thus continues the marked pace of expansion of the last years and proves that spirit of innovation, flexibility and enthusiasm are the winning combination for public transport.

Largest City Bus Tender in Europe Won

This combination also allowed Solaris to win the largest tender for city buses awarded in the European Union this year. Solaris will deliver 148 buses to Warsaw Municipal Bus Company (MZA). Although some of these will not enter service in the Polish capital until 2012, Solaris’s will this year record a new record result of 515 buses sold in its home market, Poland.

In Germany, Solaris’s most significant export market, the presence will likewise be strengthened. Despite an overall downturn of the market, Solaris will deliver more buses than in preceding years and will therefore further improve its market share. At the same time, Solaris continues to develop new markets. The first Solaris buses are now running in Serbia and Russia. All in all, there are now 24 countries which see operation of buses with the green dog.

Sustainable Electric Mobility with Trolleybuses, Hybrid and Electric Buses

The consistent choice of sustainable electric mobility benefits both the environment and quality of life in our cities. Solaris trolleybuses have been running in European cities since 2001 and Solaris now is market leader for these vehicles in the EU and EEA. This year, the 500th Solaris Trollino was handed over to its customer and is now running smoothly and silently in the Polish city of Lublin.

In 2006, Solaris set the pace for the entire bus industry by becoming Europe’s first manufacturer to offer a city bus with volume-production hybrid technology. In line with the company’s philosophy, Solaris gives its customers a range of choices and does not insist on technologies that might not be suited to local requirements. This is why Solaris now has the largest portfolio of hybrid buses of any European manufacturer, offering the right kind of hybrid solution for every operation. The range runs from the standard-length Urbino 12 Hybrid, which has all components inside the bus and does not require workshops to be adjusted for roof-level maintenance, to the articulated Urbino 18 Hybrid. When fitted with a series powertrain, it combines batteries and supercapacitors as two independent energy storage systems with a plug-in connection for stationary recharging, enabling maximum use of electricity.

Solaris’s substantial experience in developing and operating trolleybuses and hybrid buses has been put towards building the company’s first electric bus. The Solaris Urbino electric premieres at Kortrijk and opens up new possibilities for tomorrow’s emission-free public transport.

International Success for Tramino Low-floor Tram

Electric mobility also is key to Solaris’s rail activities. The first Tramino low-floor tram was unveiled two years ago and subsequently successfully completed a very demanding test and certification schedule. By now the first of 45 volume-production Tramino for Poznań City Transport (MPK) are in service and continue to impress their passengers with their bright and spacious interior as much as with their extra-wide doors. Their width of 1,500 mm is a European record for low-floor trams. With five body sections and at 32 m length, Poznań’s Tramino carry a total of up to 229 passengers.

Just like the Urbino buses, the Solaris Tramino has quickly found favour in other European countries, with the first export order received in July 2011 when representatives of Solaris and Jenaer Nahverkehrsgesellschaft mbH signed a contract for the delivery of five trams to the German city of Jena. These trams will have three body sections for an overall length of 29 m, constituting a new variant within the product family. These Tramino have been exactly tailored to the operator’s requirements. Delivery will be completed by mid-2013.

The course has been set: on the road as well as on rails, Solaris’s future journey is powered by enthusiasm and electricity, so that our cities’ quality of life may further be enhanced and the environment and climate continue to be protected.

Details of new products and further topics are available in the Solaris Busworld 2011 press information.