- Details
- Category: Industry News
Elkhart, Ind. — Forest River, a manufacturer of recreational vehicles, pontoon boats, cargo trailers, and buses, is pleased to announce the acquisition of certain assets of Battisti Customs, a leading vehicle conversion company for the chauffeured ground transportation market.
Battisti Customs produces luxury conversions on multiples platforms, including the Mercedes Benz Sprinter, Ford Transit, and the Dodge ProMaster chassis. They also perform a variety of limo and specialty upfits for various bus manufacturers, including an exclusive agreement with Berkshire Coach. Their conversions include mobile offices, mobile medical, executive shuttles, day-cruiser RVs, and luxury shuttle buses.
Formed in 2009 by Bill Battisti and Carl Hazzard, Battisti Customs has extensive experience engineering and crafting interior vehicle concepts. The company’s expertise provides unlimited possibilities for Forest River dealers and their customers. In order to keep up with their growing product line, Battisti Customs will be moving from their current 30,000 square foot manufacturing facility to a new 60,000 square foot facility in Elkhart later this month.
“We are excited to welcome Battisti Customs to the Forest River family. Bill and Carl bring a vast amount of knowledge in the custom upfitting of vans and buses to our company,” says David Wright of Forest River. “This knowledge will be extremely valuable to the Forest River dealer base as we expand our presence in these markets. The opportunities that Battisti brings to our dealers and their customers are enormous.”
Bill Battisti, president of Battisti Customs adds, “Carl and I looking forward to joining Forest River and continuing to grow the company we created. Battisti Customs has always provided the highest level of customer service and quality interior conversions. Through our sale to Forest River, we will have the opportunity to expand our line of diversified products. We are excited about the future opportunities for our business, our customers, and our employees.”
Visit battisticustoms.com or forestriverinc.com for more information.
[CD0617]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
Greensboro, N.C. — Prevost received the largest contract in their history when they recently entered into a contract with Greyhound Lines to deliver up to 360 motorcoaches to the transportation company. The three-year deal specifies the delivery of the first 60 coaches in 2017 with the option to purchase the balance over a three-year period.
“Our team is quite excited to be able to build Greyhound buses again. We greatly value our long-standing relationship with Greyhound and are appreciative that they have chosen Prevost as their brand of choice,” says Francois Tremblay, Prevost vice president/general manager. “We believe product quality and exceptional service support made all the difference in their decision.”
“We are pleased to continue our partnership with Prevost over the next few years. The quality of buses they produce will help us to keep setting the highest standard for transporting customers across North America,” said Dave Leach, Greyhound president & CEO. “Our customers desire to travel in the safest and most comfortable bus available; motorcoaches from Prevost allow us to fulfill that need for them.”
Prevost is proud to partner with a company that has garnered the level of respect that Greyhound enjoys in the transportation industry. Founded in 1914, Greyhound Lines is the largest provider of intercity bus transportation, serving more than 3,800 destinations across North America with a modern, environmentally friendly fleet. The company employs 7,000 people and carries around 18 million passengers a year. Those passengers travel 5.4 billion miles a year on a fleet of around 1,700 Greyhound vehicles that travel to 48 U.S. states, 10 Canadian provinces, and Mexico.
“It is always a pleasure to work with our long-term partners at Greyhound & First Group. A true team effort went into the bid process that brought us to securing this contract and our relationship with GLI will continue to be a team effort stated Jack Forbes, Prevost vice president, North American Sales. From sales to manufacturing to the best aftermarket support team in the industry, we are all committed to the success of this partnership.”
Visit prevostcar.com for more information.
[CD0617]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
Boston — Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation is pleased to announce that they have been awarded “Best Car Service” by Boston Magazine for the seventh time since 1983. This is the second consecutive year that they’ve been given this honor.
“To be recognized for this award is very special,” said Dawson Rutter, founder and CEO of the company. “This is a testament to the outstanding efforts of our entire team—not only in Boston, but our New York City fleet operations team and our worldwide affiliate partners—to make our clients’ experiences as flawless as possible no matter where they travel.“
Dawson Rutter of Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation
Commonwealth Worldwide, currently celebrating their 35th anniversary, specializes in global corporate executive transportation services for business travel, private aviation, financial road shows, staged entertainment/production tours, meetings & special events, and luxury hotels. Recognized as an innovator in customer service technology, Commonwealth has developed a comprehensive suite of mobile and desktop communications tools to allow clients to see where their vehicle is in real time and call their chauffeur with the touch of a button on their phone.
In addition to being named in the Best of Boston six other times, Commonwealth has been awarded national “Operator of the Year” by the Taxi, Limousine & Paratransit Association, the “Concierge Choice” award from the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges, and the Hartford Insurance “Pewter Stag” award for safety twice.
Visit commonwealthlimo.com for more information.
[CD0617]