Temsa builds several models of transit and intercity coaches with about 75% of production being exported to more than 66 countries.
Temsa/Vandalia Bus Lines
5 min to read
Temsa announced it is moving to a company-owned distributor for the American market. This is a serious show of confidence in the American market as well as Temsa products, according to the company. Building a new distributor structure for national support is a major undertaking and quite unique.
Temsa is essentially unique in putting together its own national distributor network virtually overnight, which shows their concern for providing support and service for its customers, as well as making a major commitment to the North American market, the company stated.
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History Temsa already has decades of expertise with buses and years of experience on the American market. The company builds several models of transit and intercity coaches, with about 75% of production being exported to more than 66 countries.
The story of Temsa in America starts more than a decade ago. Bus operators had been looking for a suitable long-distance coach for smaller groups, but there were no small integral coaches on the American market. Several mid-size buses were available for shorter trips but they lacked big-coach amenities including underfloor luggage space, a restroom, reclining seats, and air-ride suspension.
Realizing that there was a need, the Temsa engineers put their small-coach experience and design expertise to work and came up with their TS 35 model for the American market. With a length of 35 feet and a capacity of 38 or 40 passengers, it offered air-ride suspension, underfloor luggage capacity, reclining seats, a restroom, and other big-coach features. Introduced to the American market in 2008, it soon became a hit with operators seeking an integral coach with big-coach features for smaller groups, according to the company.
A few years later, some operators began asking for an even smaller coach and Temsa complied with the 30-foot TS 30 coach that was introduced in 2012. It offered a typical capacity of 30 passengers with the same big-coach features and amenities found in the TS 35. Next development with the shorter coaches came in 2016 when Temsa introduced an enhanced version of the TS 35 known as the TS 35E, marking a first in about 39 years that a 35-foot coach on the U.S. and Canadian market became so successful, the company said.
Bus operators were so pleased with the shorter coaches that they asked for a full- size 45-foot coach from Temsa. After development work, revisions and reviews, the new model was introduced to the American market, bringing the Temsa product line in the U.S. to three coaches of different lengths of 30, 35, and 45 feet.
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Decision The different reasons for Temsa’s decision to go with a company-owned distributor included the following: This arrangement provides direct contact between the customer and the manufacturer. Therefore, solutions come directly from the factory and not via an intermediate distributor. A company-owned distributor provides customers with faster technical support and better service on warranty problems. Spare parts will come from the factory and parts availability will be improved. A company-owned distributor will be able to provide Temsa owners with more efficient mobile support and service. Parts pricing can be more competitive. In addition to quicker response to customer needs and requests, this system will also provide customers with better online tools from training videos to online parts service.
Temsa builds several models of transit and intercity coaches with about 75% of production being exported to more than 66 countries.
Temsa/Vandalia Bus Lines
North America Locations Temsa North America is based in Orlando, Florida and already opening more service, parts, and support locations. The company has plans to have five locations open in 2019. They will be located in the Southeast, Northeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West.
Each of these locations will provide warranty service as well as parts, repairs, and regular service for Temsa products. While these will be Temsa locations, they will also service other makes and models.
Temsa North America Team Temsa has put together a team for Temsa North America, all with extensive experience and expertise in the bus industry. Here is a partial list: Deniz Çetin, Temsa North America country manager; Randy Angell, national sales manager, Anthony (Tony) Mongiovi and Tim Guldin, regional sales managers, Wes Lefler, Steve Blaschke, Ryan Angell and Gary McQueen account executive, Andy Byars, pre-owned sales manager, Mark Santoyo, after sales and spare parts manager, and Neil Wells, national parts sales manager.
New Coach Sales Temsa North America is doing well in new coach sales, the company stated. In addition to the 45-foot TS 45 coach and the popular 35-foot TS 35E already in stock, a newer version of the TS 30 will arrive in the second quarter of 2019. Temsa North America is working with customers to provide an attractive price point within the market followed by economy of operation and ongoing support.
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Pre-Owned Coaches Pre-owned bus and coach sales will soon start at various Temsa locations.
Parts Sales Temsa has three parts managers working at different locations in the U.S. to make parts ordering smooth and efficient.
Technical Support and Training The company will offer support and training at customer locations as well as more detailed and formal scheduled sessions including “Product Familiarization” and “Preventive Reactive Maintenance” at various Temsa locations. Technical support will be available 24/7.
Customer Support Temsa North America already has three customer support representatives, located in the West, Midwest, and East regions. Two more will come on board soon to provide service for customers located in the Southeast and Southwest regions.
Partner Network Temsa is also working and building a partner network. The contracted independent service providers, with their locations and support, will enable Temsa to become closer for their customers.
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Looking Ahead Temsa’s five initial locations, including Orlando, Fla.; Egg Harbor, N.J.; Burlingame, Calif.; and two more locations, one in the Midwest near Chicago and one in the Southwest will be open in 2019. Additional locations will be considered for the future once the forthcoming Temsa Partner Network is established.
Currently, both the 35-foot TS 35E and 45-foot TS 45 coaches are in stock and available to customers. A new 30-foot TS 30 model will be launched in 2019 and sales will start in the second quarter. A battery-electric version of the TS 45 will become available in 2020.
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