There is more to minibus seating than meets the eye, and it takes a lot to come up with the products that the market wants. We visit Phoenix Seating to look at its successes in is so-far short history
There has been much upheaval in the world of minibus seats over the past decade, and one name to have come out on top is Phoenix Seating. Now the UK’s largest manufacturer of passenger seats, it turns out over 30,000 per year from its Kingswinford base, with many going to the accessible sector.
Phoenix celebrated its 15th birthday in January. “Early days were hard going, both financially and technically,” says Sales and Commercial Director Sara Tarrant.
“But we persevered and carried on, and it has been onwards and upwards from there.”
At the start, Phoenix had two products: A high-back seat complemented by a semi-high-back model. Both were designed and built in-house, a method of creation and production that continues today.
An early stroke of luck was becoming involved with bus builder Optare, which was productionising the Alero minibus. That led Phoenix to develop the Blenheim seat. The Blenheim remains the backbone of its range, and it continues to record increased year-on-year sales.
“The Blenheim is a mid-range seat that can be described as a stylish workhorse,” says Finance and Purchasing Director Adrian Melia, who adds that the Blenheim and five other established products – including tip-up and fold-away seats – are complemented by custom-made models.
“In every range of seats that we produce, there are practically endless variations. That gives us an advantage over larger manufacturers because we can deal with both small and large batches while still delivering on a short lead time, the latter being one of our strengths when we began and it remains so today.”
Early innovator
Phoenix offers both aluminium- and steel-framed seats to a multitude of sectors from ambulance and police vehicles to wheelchair-accessible vehicles, taxis and minibuses. Each is fully type approved with all testing undertaken in the UK.
Introduction of the aluminium option in 2008 was another turning point, and at that time it gave a huge saving in weight over steel framing. Things have moved on since then, and development of the steel product means that the difference between the two is now negligible.
“Convertors have been consistently challenging seat manufacturers to remove weight for a long time, and legislation changes have also been a key driver,” says Adrian.
“We have come to learn what bodybuilders and convertors expect as we work closely with the industry and we have built excellent relationships throughout; we supply the Blenheim seat to the Daimler minibus plant in Dortmund for use in its Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Mobility range.”
Another key to gaining customers has been the attitude to bespoke customer projects. “If it’s a simple variation then it is easy to do. We’ve done lots previously, which is why we gained many of the customers that we have.”
Checking seatbelts
One notable product that is currently being rolled out is All Buckled Up, a useful addition to existing seats that informs the driver when belts are not applied.
Each seat that has it is fitted with a Bluetooth-enabled device in the buckle, powered by a small battery hidden from view. The driver is provided with a display that shows which seats have belts applied and which do not. It also shows the total number of belts in use at any one time.
“When a belt is released, the display informs the driver visually and audibly,” says Sara. He or she can also see exactly which seat no longer has a belt applied. “It’s often the case that it’s difficult for drivers to ensure that children use seatbelts, but this product simplifies that process.”
Thanks to the Bluetooth aspect, no wiring is plugged into the seats and thus those on tracking can be removed and refitted as required. When initialised, the ab display auto-connects with the seats that are present, and it can handle up to 70 at one time.
“The next stage will be to introduce an app, meaning that drivers will be able to view the display on their mobile phone,” she adds. “The product is in its early days yet and there is much still to be explored, but it has undergone trials with one local authority.”
The future’s bright…
Another recent initiative is a retrofit device that converts the fixed three-point belts on Phoenix’s own seats to all-age types with no impact on their compliance with regulations.
It’s a simple item that is fitted in around five minutes, and Phoenix can either despatch the part for operators to fit the part themselves, or it can send an engineer.
“That’s an indication of where we want to take the business; we have some good products and it’s a case of making incremental gains with them,” says Adrian
Both he and Sara add that Phoenix has expanded in a controlled manner and that it has capacity for growth within its existing operation while maintaining short lead times and flexibility.
But for now – helped by an overhauled website, a focus on social media and other marketing initiatives – it’s concentrating on developing its product line-up in a sustainable way.
