NEOPLANS IN AMERICA
Page 24
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I HAVE read lain Sheriff's article "Swedes hit US bus sales trail" (CM, June 1). The report depicts quite clearly the conditions on the American bus market. However, the impression could arise that Neoplan has difficulties with 2,000 buses in USA, whilst all other bus manufacturers have their vehicles running without any problem.
His statement about the recall of more than 2,000 buses built by Neoplan for safety reasons is not true. The fact is, that of the 2,200 Neoplan buses built in the USA more than 2,100 are troublefree and uninterruptedly in service. Only Washington has parked 76 of our buses for unexplicable reasons to us.
Although we had confirmed that the hairline cracks found on the mounting plate of some front and rear axle suspensions were no safety risks, WMATA consulted the NHTSA authorities, from where they also got the information that the buses could be operated.
The statement therefore is not only incorrect but also will be received very negatively for us by your readers' circle in England. I would appreciate very much, if in one of your following issues you could report of our activities in USA thus clearing away any doubts and misinterpretations.
For once, Neoplan, as the first. European bus producer, built and opened on May 22, 1981, a US bus manufacturing plant,.. where to this day the 2,200 buses were made • • Secondly, we exported to USA 279 German-produced Neoplan buses — 104 double-decker coaches thereof — more than any European bus manufacturer.
Thirdly, we have, as the only European bus producer, taken a second bus manufacturing plant into operation on June 7, 1985, namely in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania.
With an order backlog of 450 buses we will soon have more than 3,000 Neoplan buses on the American market, which is more, than all of the European manufacturers together have on the US market.
Following orders we received from Atlanta, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, the most convincing proof of the satisfaction of our clients was the confirmation of an option order for the delivery of further 900 buses for 16 cities in Pennsylvania. We got this order on the occasion of the opening of the . Neoplan plant VI in Honey Brook. Albrecht Auwarter
Chief executive officer Gottlob Auwkler Gmbh & Co.