Ansair
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Bus manufacturing |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Founder | Reg Ansett |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Fate | Acquired by Clifford Corporation; ceased trading after Clifford collapse |
| Headquarters | Tullamarine , Australia |
Area served | Australia |
| Products | Bus bodies |
| Owner | Ansett Transport Industries (initially), later Clifford Corporation |
Ansair was an Australian manufacturer specializing in bus body construction, initially owned by Ansett Transport Industries before being acquired by the Clifford Corporation.
History
Established in 1945 by Reg Ansett at Tullamarine, Ansair began by fabricating bodies for Ansett Pioneer coaches as well as producing aircraft components for Ansett Airways. The company also provided bus bodywork to various other operators.
In 1987, Ansair launched a facility in Kingston, Tasmania dedicated to building bodies for Scania buses operated by Metro Tasmania. Later, in January 1993, a second factory commenced operations at the former Tamworth Airport maintenance site to manufacture Scanias for the Sydney Buses fleet.
Ownership changed in August 1995 when Ansett Transport Industries sold Ansair to the Clifford Corporation, which resulted in the closure of the Kingston facility by September of that year.
By 1996, Ansair broadened its chassis range, incorporating MAN and Mercedes Benz models on low-floor designs intended for Sydney Buses. These specialized units were produced at the Tullamarine plant, which handled custom orders, while other factories focused on mass production of Scania and Volvo bodies.
The Tullamarine factory ceased operations in 1997. Ansair ultimately stopped trading in November 1998 following the collapse of Clifford Corporation, leaving approximately 140 government and private buses unfinished. Austral Pacific assumed control to complete these outstanding orders but shut down its Geebung plant in December 1998, leaving only the Tamworth site active. Austral Pacific itself failed in April 1999, halting all production at Tamworth.
In June 1999, Jakab Industries reopened the Tamworth facility under the Phoenix Bus brand to finalize a delayed order of Volvo B10BLE buses for Sydney Buses. Upon completing this government contract, Jakab closed the Tamworth operations and relocated back to Queensland.
Government Order
The following table details all NSW Government-commissioned Ansair buses supplied to Sydney/Newcastle Buses.
| CHASSIS |MODEL |CHASSIS NUMBER |BODY NO#. |PLACE OF MANUFACTURE | |||||
| MERCEDES BENZ |O405N |WDB35743621076764 |MB2759 |MELBOURNE | |||||
| MERCEDES BENZ |O405N |WDB35743621081324 |MB2760 |MELBOURNE | |||||
| SCANIA |K113TRBL |1815835 |PMCA 2065 |PMC ADELAIDE | |||||
| SCANIA |L113CRB CNG |1819842–1819843 |S2116–S2117 |MELBOURNE | |||||
| 3411–3442, 3437–3440, 3461, 3463, 3511, 3695, 3698, 3703, 3705, 3707, 3720, 3730–3731, 3760–3761, 3769, 3771, 3773 | SCANIA | L113TRBL / L113CRL / L113CRB CNG | Various | S2401–S2432, S2427–S2430, S2451, S2350, S2557, S2558, S2559, S2574, S2577, S2578, S2579, S2580 | MELBOURNE / TAMWORTH / MEL-TAMWORTH |
| 3413–3436, 3431–3449, 3450–3510, 3512–3625, 3626–3661, 3692–3694, 3696–3697, 3699–3719, 3721–3759, 3762–3768, 3770–3797 | SCANIA | L113TRBL / L113CRB CNG / L113CRL | Various | S2403–S2449, S2452–S2549, S2501–S2514, M2771–M2800 (MAN), S2551–S2656 | MELBOURNE / TAMWORTH |
| 3662–3691 | MAN | 11-220 HOCL/R-NM | 7520398–7520484 | M2771–M2800 | MELBOURNE |
| 3847–3896 | VOLVO | B10BLE | 2965–3878 | B038470–B038960 | BRISBANE |
| 3897–3899 | VOLVO | B10BLE | 3793–3881 | 75147–75154 | BRIS-TAM |
| 3900–3971 | VOLVO | B10BLE | 684000–694071 | 'TAMWORTH' | |
Information provided by Ansair Tamworth Factory as of 2002.