£21m export deal for Ballymena bus company

The Wright Group has won a contract to supply 300 buses

A Ballymena-based bus company has concluded a £21m deal to supply buses in Singapore.

The order will see the firm deliver an additional 300 double deck bus kits to SBS Transit.

It follows its order to supply the bodywork for 150 new double deck buses in kit form to the Asian firm last year, in partnership with Volvo.

The first Wrightbus double decker officially entered service on the streets of Singapore this week.

"This is a hugely significant milestone for the Wright Group in Singapore, in what has been a major project for the company, both in terms of scope and scale," Wright Group business development director Jonathan Poynton said.

"As well as the design, and build in Northern Ireland of an initial prototype vehicle to provide a benchmark for local production, the project has also drawn upon our production management and logistics capabilities to produce and package completely knocked down kits in Ballymena, which are then shipped across the globe, with local assembly workers trained to Wright Group quality standards by staff seconded from Ballymena."

The Wright Group was recently awarded the contract to make the eco-friendly replacement for the London Routemaster double decker.

It has also had contract orders worth over £7m with Mistral Group (UK) plc and Isle of Man Transport for their new midibus model - the Wrightbus StreetLite.

Founded in 1946, the Wright Group has pioneered low-floor buses in the UK.

The firm has supplied buses to markets in North America, Asia and mainland Europe as well as the Republic of Ireland.