Always on the road Autosan

always oN the road

Autosan, headquartered in Sanok, is Poland’s leading bus producers, its name has been well known to many generations of Poles. Dariusz Balcerzyk talks to Michał Stachura, president of the board of management at Autosan, to find out more.

mr michał Stachura, President of the management Board

Autosan sp. z o.o. continues the 186-year tradition of Autosan, one the oldest companies in Poland. The story of the bus factory in Sanok, a town located in south-eastern Poland, goes back as far as 1832, when a small boiler plant was founded by two entrepreneurs: Mr Walenty Lipinski and Mr Mateusz Beksinski. Soon the workshop expanded its production into locksmith and blacksmith services and transformed into a large factory by building new production halls and warehouses. At the end of the 19th century the company was the greatest manufacturer of rail-coaches, freight and tram cars in Poland. In addition to coaches, machinery and equipment for the oil and spirits industry, it manufactured steam machines, boilers, cisterns, steel bridge constructions and foundry products. In the late 1920s Autosan launched its first buses with wooden skeletons on the Lancia chassis; in 1949 it made its first trams for Warsaw.

In 1957 a new tourist bus was designed by Mr Zdzislaw Beksinski. Sadly, this vehicle never went into mass production due to its overly innovative design. It is worth noting that Zdzislaw Beksinski was a famous Polish painter, sculptor, photographer and illustrator. Not many people know that for 10 years of his professional life the artist had been associated with Autosan bus factory. It was his great-grandfather Mateusz who was one of the founders of the boiler workshop, which was the forerunner of the later factory for wagons and buses.

The following years saw the expansion of the company; however, the political and economic transformations that took place in Poland in the late 20th century placed Autosan in very difficult conditions. As a result, in September 2013, the then management board of the company submitted a bankruptcy application. In October 2013, the court appointed a bankruptcy trustee for Autosan, thus enabling the company to continue its economic activity.

On March 30, 2016, Autosan was taken over by a consortium consisting of PIT-RADWAR and Huta Stalowa Wola, both members of Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (the Polish Armaments Group). PGZ is a leading manufacturer of army equipment and brings together more than 60 companies. Thus, Autosan is backed by the PGZ’s economic potential (the group’s annual sales are estimated at PLN 5 billion, which is more than €1 billion) and its know-how. The company recommenced its activities under the name of Autosan sp. z o.o. (limited liability company).

GLASPO

GlASPo has all the benefits of a modern, high-tech company with extensive experience.

Present on the Polish market since 1991, we produce glass panes and windows for the automotive, transport, construction and household appliances industries. our well-established brand means our products can be found both on the domestic market and abroad. owing to our continuous development and improvement efforts, we offer the best possible solutions to both domestic and business customers. We have gained the trust of such brands as Samsung, Whirlpool, Zetor, Pesa, Solaris, ursus and Autosan. We manufacturing the highest quality solutions at our cutting-edge machine park.

We have our own transport fleet and cooperate with the best couriers, enabling us to reach the majority of our customers in Poland within 24 hours. our 20,000m2 warehouse facilities mean that our products are available for immediate delivery. In the case of specialist orders, we can be even more flexible with timescales.

Drabpol

Drabpol is a family-owned company with only Polish capital, which has existed since 1983. Drabpol offers innovative systemic solutions in the field of construction and production works for the manufacturers of bus, truck, rail and special vehicles. The company specializes in proprietary solutions on dashboard displays, visualization of all data necessary for a driver. Drabpol develops inner system integration solutions recommended for vehicles and systems within customer range of activities. Company implements also complete solutions for electric propulsion systems. Drabpol is supplying not only bus market complete systems: electric motors, inverters, controllers and software, but configures as well the whole system – from hardware supply to software adjustment, from supplying of components to writing dedicated software in CAN – BuS standards, motor control software and visualization of the system performance on the dashboard of the driver.

By creating pioneering software solutions for a dashboard, Drabpol has developed an uncompromising and the only system of graphic and systemic personalization on the Polish market- FAPsafety+. The system allows to create solutions which are dedicated or comply with the requirements of the clients – municipal bus operators or bus manufacturers.

Drabpol is a VAR company (Value Added Reseller). What distinguishes Drabpol is technical and technological assistance in project implementation. Drabpol provides: technical consulting, sales, installation, trainings, maintenance and after-sales service; offers support for design, technology and construction offices as well as IT departments. Within the whole area of Poland, Drabpol has been organizing a network of authorized service canters providing full service in the field of tachographs, tire pressure and temperature control systems, air conditioners and chillers.

Born again

“In 2016, we acquired a recognisable brand, modern infrastructure and experienced employees. As a result, Autosan was then born again,” says Mr Michal Stachura, the company’s president of the board. “Now, Autosan stands for state-of-the-art technical and technological solutions, caring for people and the environment. Our key values are: experience and dynamism, reliability and economy. Autosan is competent, friendly, trustworthy and fully Polish. This is the brand you can rely on.”

To date, close to 115,000 vehicles have left the company’s factory gates. Its current product offer includes a wide range of buses, designed for cities, suburban areas and intercity passenger traffic, as well as buses for special applications. For 2018, the company has already secured new orders for 150 buses (its profitability starts at an annual production of 110–120 buses). Furthermore, it expects to increase its annual production to 600 buses by 2020. Exports make up around 10 per cent of Autosan’s total sales, with Germany, Scandinavia, Estonia and southern Europe its main foreign markets.

The company’s business profile also includes the production of military equipment (such as special truck bodies, and cabins for communication and radiolocation equipment) and rail stock components (complex steel welded structures including entire rail vehicle sections, components such as cabins, roofs, walls, handrails, tunnels, portals, etc). These two departments account for around 20–25 per cent of its overall sales.

modern buses

“Despite this, bus production remains our main activity,” points out Mr Stachura. “Our offer includes the entire range of city buses (9-metre, 10-metre and 12-metre long), intercity buses (9- and 10-metre long) and special buses (eg: fire brigade buses, school buses, buses for the transport of detainees and prisoners under escort, buses designed for driver training centres). Our vehicles are made of high quality stainless steel and aluminium and are painted using the highest quality paints on the market. Their engines meet the Euro 6 standard and come from such recognised producers as Cummins and IVECO.

“Our components and solutions are purchased from international manufacturers such as Voith, ZF, Allison and ZIEHL-ABEGG to name just a few. Moreover, our offer also includes ecological vehicles: electric buses (in April 2018 we will deliver four such buses to one of German cities) and hydrogen-powered buses. I am proud to say that we are well prepared for the challenges posed by the modern bus market.” n