Travel anywhere in the United Kingdom by public transport today and the chances are high that at some stage you will use the products of a factory in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. That modern, hi-tech factory is at Galgorm and is the home of The Wright Group of companies, but known to most in the industry simply as Wrights of Ballymena. Jack Kernohan joined Wrights in 1955, just nine years after the business had been started by local man Bob Wright, and stayed there until his retirement from the post of Sales Director in 2005. This book isn't a history, it's Jack's reminiscences of the development of what is today a major player in the United Kingdom bus market. He takes us though the early years, when vans and mobile shops were the staple, to building trucks and trailers and, eventually, on to the high quality buses with which the company has become synonymous. The success of the company is founded on its people, most of them local to the Ballymena area, but Jack pays tribute in this work to one man in particular who, like his father, had the vision to see where the industry needed to go and was prepared to put his money into developing new products. That man was William Wright.In the pages of this book, Jack takes us through the development of the Wright product range, introduces us to some of the industry's personalities and lightens the story with some amusing tales. As well as the UK market, we also get an insight into export orders such as the Bedfords built for Africa, the Wright Bus for Kowloon Motor Bus in Hong Kong and the stunning StreetCar RTV for Southern Nevada RTC. Jack rounds off with a look a some of the products built since his retirement. Of course, he hasn't forgotten those who made it all happen and we meet some of the staff who've helped make the company the success it is today.

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS Foreword Preface and Acknowledgements Humble Beginnings Robert Wright Coachworks Limited - The Early Years The 1950s and 1960s - Shopping with Wrights Commercial Vehicle Production - Tippers, Trailers and Vans Wrights Armoured Division Passenger Vehicles - The Beginning Moving Forward The Changes Begin The Bedford connection FIRE!! - Company Relocates to Galgorm Wrights targets the GB PSV Market The Dennis Dart Revolution Big Buses Pathfinder 320 - The low floor revolution begins 1993 and Wrights win major orders from London Transport Volvo 12m Accessible City Buses Introducing The Crusader New Cadet midibus on DAF SB120 Supplying the smaller operators Articulated Buses Wrights re-groups for Growth Millennium City Bus sets World Class Standards Double-deck developments Going Global Customcare Wrightbus Structural Engineering Expertise A special relationship Streetcar - Transport for the 21st Century Retirement The Future New Models Wright Composites proving to be an ideal fit The Wright People Awards Appendix Index