Hong Kong companies place huge order with Wrightbus in Ballymena

By Hannah Spratt

Two companies in Hong Kong have placed an order for more than 200 buses from Wrightbus in Ballymena.

The buses will be made at the company's new facility at the former JTI Gallaher factory.

It comes after a difficult year for the firm which saw two number of redundancies.

The buses for companies KMB and Long-win Bus will be among the first to be produced and delivered from the new site.

In announcing the Hong Kong orders, Group Business & Product Development Director John McLeister, said:

“We are honoured to receive these two new orders from our long-standing customers in Hong Kong.  Working closely with our partners Volvo, we have supplied almost 1500 double-deckers for operation in Hong Kong since we shipped the first bus in 2001.

“The Hong Kong double-deckers will be manufactured at our facility in Ballymena and will provide a real boost for our workforce and the local economy.”

Wrightbus International was established as a separate division of the Wrights Group to generate growth in key overseas markets.