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- Category: Industry News
ABC Companies announced several promotions to enhance its senior management team to include CEO Roman Cornell, Board of Directors Executive Chairman Dane Cornell, CFO Chuck Carns, and Executive Vice President, Parts Source John Gillis.
CEO Roman Cornell
Roman Cornell has served in a variety of regional and corporate positions for the past 31 years with the company. He brings unprecedented knowledge of the organization and industry with an emphasis on customer relationships, senior team leadership, sales, operations, and administration to his new CEO role. Most recently serving as president and chief commercial officer, Roman has been the driving force as ABC has expanded its product portfolio to diversify into new markets, including zero emissions, while building on the core motorcoach industry.
Board of Directors Executive Chairman Dane Cornell
Dane Cornell has successfully led ABC Companies, serving innumerable executive posts and as CEO. Steering the company’s executive leadership team, Dane has developed executive talent with a focus on upholding the company’s core values and sustained profitability. He will continue to mentor leadership and support the business through continuing contributions and oversight as the executive chairman of the ABC Board.
CFO Chuck Carns
Carns serves as the chief financial officer of ABC Companies. This critical role and his contributions have been instrumental as ABC has emerged from a challenging economy while investing in and entering new markets. Carns’ appointment to the ABC Companies Board of Directors brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the industry.
Gillis joined ABC Companies in 2000, holding numerous roles within the ABC Part Source business division. Under his leadership, ABC Parts Source now services over 700 transit authorities and more than 2500 private coach operators. As executive vice president, Gillis oversees seven warehouse facilities in the US and Canada along with all sales, inventory, procurement, logistics and customer support activities.
EVP, Parts Source John Gillis
These recent promotions follow the company’s history of leveraging its internal talent while injecting outside expertise to advance its market leadership position and enhance growth strategies built on a customer-focused business model and a family-focused culture. Despite the challenges of recent economic cycles, ABC Companies continues to see positive trends in the industry. Guided by Cornell and Carns, the company successfully navigated through the recent volatile market shifts by launching new product categories and technology initiatives within the private and public ground transportation sectors. ABC Companies Parts Source business, led by Gillis, also experienced significant growth throughout the period, capitalizing on shifting and emerging market opportunities encompassing motorcoach, transit and new vehicle categories including battery electric vehicles. Today, ABC offers one of the broadest and most diverse portfolios in the industry to help private and public operators grow as their businesses scale.
“Roman has confidently moved toward his new role, even while working through an unprecedented business environment,” said Dane Cornell. “He’s truly earned this new position and it has been a long time coming. His knowledge of the industry, unwavering passion, commitment, and vision for moving our business and customers forward into the future can already be seen in the ABC Companies of today. We are proud to see growth and commitment in all areas of our executive leadership and I look forward to supporting them as they transition into their new and expanded roles”.
Roman’s CEO appointment marks ABC Companies third generation of Cornell family business leadership. Ryhan Cornell and Ashley Cornell, also third generation Cornells, are growing leaders in their roles. They are now joined by Isaac Cornell from the fourth generation, and all are actively participating in the family-owned and managed business.
“I'm honored and humbled to build on the strong foundation built by my grandfather, father, and uncle and look forward to continued growth as we diversify across markets to ensure a strong future,” said Roman Cornell. “Our customers’ needs will always be our first priority and have been central to ABC’s rapid portfolio expansion and business diversification. Providing best-in-class products and services to support and drive the future of passenger ground transportation will always drive our core mission.”
Visit abc-companies.com for more information.
[06.16.23]
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- Category: Industry News
Motor Coach Industries (MCI) has announced that Universal Coach Line, a bus company based in Richmond, British Columbia, is breaking new ground as the first in Canada to take delivery of a zero-emission, battery-electric MCI J4500 CHARGE coach. Universal Coach Line, one of Canada’s largest private motorcoach operators, views the zero-emission, 45-foot, 52-passenger coach as a game changer for its Vancouver airport, commuter, and shuttle service routes.
Universal Coach Line recently purchased an all-electric MCI J4500 CHARGE coach.
“We expect our new electric MCI J4500 model will be the first of many,” said Universal Coach Line Regional Manager for Western Canada Theodore Cheng. “We are enthusiastic about the opportunities zero-emission coaches create. Battery-electric helps us fulfil the environmental goals of our contract and charter clients, as well as our own. The technology is attractive to riders, desirable to drivers, and will transform operations by reducing energy and maintenance costs.”
A trailblazer in electric, Universal Coach Line completed a test demonstration of the MCI J4500 CHARGE in 2021, installed a charging station from Electrum Charging Solutions at its maintenance facility, and already operates two electric minibuses.
“The contributions of our local officials and suppliers, together with MCI’s training, are appreciated by everyone at Universal Coach Line,” said Cheng. “It is an honor to bring a higher level of clean, sustainable transportation to Vancouver as our busy summer travel and tourism season gets underway.”
Supported by provincial grants and sales tax rebates, the J4500 CHARGE is a zero-emission version of the industry’s best-selling tour and charter luxury coach and the primary model in Universal Coach Line’s fleet. The electric edition leverages advanced EV technology from NFI subsidiary New Flyer, features Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), offering the latest safety technology, and delivers substantial clean air benefits, avoiding approximately 80 metric tons of greenhouse gas annually. Passengers can expect a quiet ride, best-in-class legroom, dramatic lighting, and comfort features throughout the cabin.
“Our relationship with Universal Coach Line spans two decades,” said MCI Vice President of Private Sector Sales and Marketing Brent Maitland. “We look forward to supporting Universal Coach Line’s zero-emission vision with our reliable, high-performance battery-electric J4500 CHARGE coach while providing exceptional training and service support. It is great to see Universal Coach Line leading the move to sustainable commuter transportation.”
Visit mcicoach.com for more information.
[06.16.23]
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- Category: Industry News
Sales are up! The American Bus Association Foundation (ABAF), the scholarship arm of the American Bus Association, released its most recent Motorcoach Builders Survey, which tracks data from the industry’s major coach manufacturers that sell in North America. So far this year, manufacturers are seeing their strongest Q1 sales since 2020, according to the report, and year-over-year, represents a 17 percent increase in over the same period of 2022.
"We are finally seeing some sectors in the private motorcoach industry start to recover from the effects of the COVID pandemic,” said ABAF President Peter Pantuso. “As our industry recovers, we see the positive effects on industry suppliers and manufacturers. We have a long road ahead of us until we see pre-2019 numbers again but we are heading in the right direction.”
ABAF President Peter Pantuso
According to the report, manufacturers sold 260 new and 92 pre-owned coaches, for a total of 352 motorcoaches. This compares with 300 during the first quarter 2022. The increase in sales was led by the private sector buying 130 percent more vehicles over last year as the private motorcoach industry continues to strengthen post-COVID. The public sector buying fell more than 33 percent more vehicles year over year.
ABAF worked with John Dunham & Associates to collect the data.
The full report is available here.
Visit buses.org/aba-foundation for more information on ABAF.
[06.13.23]