Robert ‘Pino’ Harris, 75, has died unexpectedly after being taken ill.
He owned Dublin-based Harris Group, which entered the UK PSV market in 2014 as a distributor for Chinese-built Higer coaches. Its most recent offering was the Storm 9 37-seater.
In 2016, it became the UK and Ireland distributor for the newly-revived LDV in China, and plans to offer its passenger versions in the UK.
Mr Harris, who married in 1993, does not have any children.
In the 1990s Harris Group became well known for assembling knocked-down kits of Japanese Hino trucks, and his three franchises, also for Isuzu and Iveco, had a 25% market share of the Irish truck market.
A prolific property investor, he made millions buying and selling land in West Dublin.
He was the victim of a failed kidnapping attempt by paramilitaries in the 1980s, but escaped by ramming his car past his assailants.
www.higer.ie/harris-higer-news/
