The Vapor Ricon Europe name is well-established in the accessible minibus area, but now the rebranded firm is targeting big buses with a range of doors and quick-release window glazing
Things are changing at Faiveley Vapor Ricon Europe (FVRE), and not just in terms of the Loughborough-based company’s name.
Previously known as Vapor Ricon Europe, the brand revision came about via a group reorganisation following Vapor Ricon’s purchase of American rail specialist Faiveley.
The Vapor Ricon name is established in the wheelchair-accessible minibus sector, but now FVRE is turning its attention to full-sized PCVs, too, and door and window systems in particular.
“We’re not like the major, established players in the door market,” says Business Unit Manager Paul Hemingway.
“At the moment in Europe, we are building a reputation and working with smaller companies by doing one-offs. Then, when those products work, we hope that they come back for more.”
Transferring expertise
As a group, Faiveley Vapor Ricon is already established in the door market and it works with Alexander Dennis on North American sales of the Enviro500.
FVRE aspires to establish a presence in the UK with major bus builders in 2017. Standard inward-gliding doors are likely to be the first product that it offers, and they will be followed by plug types, for use at the centre of dual-doored buses.
“At the moment, 90% of bus doors in the market are operated pneumatically,” says Paul. “We do those, but we also do electric examples too, and pneumatic models can be converted to electric easily in the future.”
A common difficulty with an electrically-operated door is incorporating an emergency release, which is more awkward than with air-actuated models. FVRE has tackled that problem with a mechanical release.
Simple things
Why would operators specify FVRE doors over other manufacturers? There are a number of reasons, says Paul.
“We offer products that are reliable, have aftermarket backing and upfront engineering support. Buyers will not deal with agents; they will deal with us.
“In the UK accessible sector, the established Vapor Ricon Europe brand has a reputation that is second-to-none and we intend to continue that in new markets. We are taking our engineers and training them to deal with doors.”
In the case of a fault, Paul says that the company will either courier parts to the operator or send them overnight, or dispatch one of its engineers to deal with the problem.
But he is confident that problems will be rare; both electric- and pneumatically-operated doors are tested to 1m cycles.
A clear view
Windows are another area of the bus market where FVRE is planning to establish a presence, and its parent company has a great deal of experience in this sector in Canada and the United States.
“We do bus windows in North America, but the market there is very different to that in Europe and those products are not suited for use here,” says Paul.
“In the UK, we will be launching a patented quick-release window in the summer. It is a new system that has a variable width and that can be adjusted to the body thickness. It can also be retrofitted to existing buses.”
The glazing can be supplied with a covering that prevents ‘scratchitti’ and it is suited to applications that are either straight-edged or curved; it will be sold directly to operators, but vehicle OEMs are the immediate priority.
“At the moment the quick-release glazing can only be used in windows where the glass is flat, which limits its use as a windscreen. But it can be used where hoppers or sliders are part of the unit and also where double-glazing is used.”
FVRE is targeting the whole PSV market with the new glazing, and not just buses. Paul says that when productionised, five minutes will be enough time to remove a damaged pane and replace it with a new one.
That compares well with conventional bonded glazing, which can see the vehicle off the road for many hours while the adhesive cures. But the quick-release product is also bonded; the adhesive is within the frame, and it is the complete unit that is replaced.
To showcase all of it products, FVRE is in the process of completing a demonstration trailer. It has examples of the quick-release glazing and both the gliding and plug doors, and will be displayed at a variety of shows and events.
And another thing…
Faiveley Vapor Ricon’s efforts in the bus sector are likely to deliver results in the short-term, but it is also involved in an area of the passenger-carrying market that has a longer gestation period.
That product is Olli, made by Local Motors. Similar to the Navya Arma (routeone, news, 1 February), it is a fully-autonomous minibus that is built in Arizona and Berlin and Faiveley Vapor Ricon is hopeful that it will see a similar level of success as the Arma.
Its involvement with Olli is indicative of where Faiveley Vapor Ricon is looking: To the future. Doors and windows form part of that, but it is also working on its wheelchair access range, which will very soon see a super lightweight lift added to complement a CNC-cut floor.
“We have grown our bus business so far with niche builders, but in 2017 we are planning to establish a presence with the major manufacturers,” says Paul. “We can do volume products and we can tackle niches. It’s up to the buyer.”
