Thomas Built Buses
 |
|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Automotive Industry |
| Predecessor | Perley A. Thomas Car Works, Inc. |
| Founded | 1916 |
| Founder | Perley A. Thomas |
| Headquarters | High Point, North Carolina, United States |
|
Area served
|
North America |
|
Key people
|
Caley Edgerly (President, CEO) |
| Products |
School buses Commercial buses Specialty Vehicles |
|
Production output
|
15,000 vehicles/ year |
| Owner | Daimler AG |
|
Number of employees
|
1,600 |
| Parent | Daimler Trucks North America |
| Website | thomasbus.com |
Thomas Built Buses, Inc. (commonly designated Thomas) is an American bus manufacturer. Headquartered in High Point, North Carolina, the company is a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America (the parent company of Freightliner). While best known for its yellow school buses, Thomas also produces, activity buses/MFSAB (Multi-Function School Activity Buses), commercial buses, and bus bodies for aftermarket conversion.
Thomas bus bodies are produced in two facilities in High Point, North Carolina; Thomas also produces the chassis for its Saf-T-Liner/Transit Liner EFX and HDX buses.
The oldest surviving bus manufacturer in North America, Thomas Built Buses was founded in 1916. Trained as a woodworker and engineer, Perley A. Thomas had become unemployed as Southern Car Company had closed its doors; the company was a streetcar manufacturer based in High Point, North Carolina. As the city was (and still remains) a center of furniture manufacturing, many workers found jobs in furniture production; Thomas initially founded a company specializing in fireplace mantles and home furnishings.
In the summer of 1916, Thomas Car Works was founded as Perley Thomas began work in modification of existing streetcars in a car barn in High Point. With a $6,000 loan, Thomas purchased the equipment of Southern Car Works at auction, opening a facility in a former ice manufacturing plant. In 1918, the company began production of new streetcars; 25 were produced, leading the company to build its own factory in High Point. Shortly after the company opened, all-steel streetcar bodies joined production of wooden bodies.
In 1921, the company received its largest order ever, as NOPSI (New Orleans Public Service, Inc.) placed an order for 150 streetcars, to be delivered from 1921 to 1924. As Thomas was unable to fill the order on its own, the company shared a portion of the order with J. G. Brill, based in Philadelphia. In September 1922, after 25 streetcars were delivered, the High Point factory was destroyed by fire.
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Wikipedia