Gillig
2507480
221125831
2008-06-23T04:08:12Z
Lightbot
7178666
Units/dates/other
{{Infobox Company
| company_name = Gillig Corporation
| company_logo = [[Image:Gillg.png]]
| vector_logo =
| company_type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| genre =
| foundation = 1890
| founder = Jacob Gillig
| location_city = 25800 Clawiter Road<br>[[Hayward, California]] 94545
| location_country = {{flagicon|USA}}
| location = <!-- this parameter modifies "Headquarters" -->
| origins =
| key_people =
| area_served = United States
| industry = [[Public transport|Transit]]
| products = Heavy-duty [[transit bus]]es
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| num_employees =
| parent =
| divisions =
| subsid =
| owner =
| company_slogan =
| homepage = [http://www.gillig.com www.gillig.com]
| dissolved =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Gillig Corporation''', formerly '''Gillig Bros.''', is a manufacturer of heavy-duty [[transit bus]]es located in [[Hayward, CA]]. Prior to 1993, Gillig had also been a manufacturer of [[school bus]]es.
==History==
[[Image:Gilligcorporationheadquarters.jpg|thumb|195px|right|Gillig headquarters in Hayward]]
In 1890, Jacob Gillig opened a carriage and wagon shop in [[San Francisco, CA]], and was joined by his son Leo in 1896. The original shop was destroyed in the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake]], but reopened as the Leo Gillig Automobile Works manufacturing automobile, hearse, truck, and bus bodies.
In 1920, Leo's brother Chester Gillig joined the company and introduced and patented the "California Top" roof construction style consisting of a hard-top roof and sliding windows. The company's name was changed at this time as well to Gillig Bros. In the late 1920s, Gillig starting producing pleasure boats and heavy trucks, and produced their first [[school bus]] in 1932. In 1937, Gillig introduced their first transit-style (flat front) school bus, and in 1938 the company moved to Hayward, CA. In 1957, Gillig purchased Pacific Bus division of [[Kenworth|Kenworth Truck Company]], and by that time the company was devoted almost entirely to the production of school buses. In 1959, Gillig pioneered the diesel-powered [[Rear-engine design|rear-engined]] transit style school bus with the release of the C-series Transit Coach, and within five years the C-Series accounted for three-quarters of all of Gillig sales figures. In 1967, Gillig produced the highest capacity school bus ever produced, the 855-D, which had a passenger capacity of 97 [[student|pupils]].
In 1969, Herrick-Pacific Steel purchased the company and changed the name to the Gillig Corporation. During the time they built school buses, Gillig earned a reputation for being one of the "safest" buses ever built due to the near total absence of recalls. The only recall for a Gillig-built school bus was in 1979 for rear-end axle separation issues.
In 1977, Gillig decided to branch out into the manufacture of [[transit bus]]es and teamed up with [[Neoplan]] to build a series of European-styled transit buses that had the option of [[propane]] fueled engines. However, the partnership with Neoplan lasted only until 1979<ref name="Stauss,66">Stauss, Ed (1988), 66.</ref>, and in 1980 Gillig introduced the Phantom<ref name="Stauss,67">Stauss, Ed (1988), 67.</ref>, a heavy-duty transit bus based slightly upon their previous round-body school bus platform. A State of [[California]] tax-free subsidy helped early sales, and sales were later buoyed by low-bidding on contracts and specializing in serving smaller transit agencies. This strategy has proven to be successful, as the Phantom has become one of the longest-lasting transit models in existence, and is still in production. Production of the Transit Coach School Bus ceased in 1982, but a school bus variation of the Phantom was offered beginning in 1986<ref name="Stauss,68">Stauss, Ed (1988), 68.</ref>, but production stopped in 1993 when Gillig exited the school bus market altogether.
The Spirit, a late-1980s attempt at a medium-duty bus, did not sell well and was discontinued after a few years. In 1997, Gillig entered the low-floor bus market with the Advantage (originally called "H2000LF", and is currently called the "Low Floor"). Like the Phantom, the Low Floor was first purchased largely by rental car companies for use at their airport facilities, but transit sales increased as the model matured.
Currently, Gillig produces around 1,200 to 1,300 buses a year.
==Alternative fuels==
In 1992, Gillig began producing an [[LNG]] fueled version of the Phantom in an attempt to produce a low-emissions transit bus, but this was later discontinued. The only LNG Phantoms in existence currently operate shuttle service at [[Los Angeles International Airport]] and [[Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport]].
In 1996, Gillig introduced a [[diesel-electric]] [[Hybrid vehicle|hybrid]] powered Phantom, which they produced until 2006. The Low Floor bus is now offered in a hybrid powered version as the company continues to focus its efforts on "clean diesel" technology.
Currently, Gillig does not offer buses with [[alternative fuel]] engines as they have decided that the "clean diesel" pathway was more cost effective and required fewer changes to their products. However, some transit districts have converted Gillig buses to run on [[compressed natural gas|CNG]] or [[LNG]].
In 2001, Gillig partnered with Alstom and produced the "Trolley" for Seattle's King County Metro Transit. These coaches took the propulsion packages from the old fleet of AM General trolley coaches (G.E. Traction Motor, Randtronics Chopper Control, and electronic card cage), and Alstom refurbished and installed them into new Gillig Phantom bodies with KIEPE pneumatically operated fiberglass trolleypoles.<ref name="Metro Bus Facts">[http://transit.metrokc.gov/am/vehicles/g-trolley.html Metro Transit Bus facts and figures - Gillig Trolley Bus], ''transit.metrokc.gov'', retrieved on 2007-11-18</ref><ref name="Metro Employee History">[http://www.mehva.org/bus1008.html Metro Employee Historic Vehicle Association - Bus #1008], ''mehva.org'', retrieved on 2007-11-18</ref>
==Products==
===Current===
<!--Pics for each model are available below. Please do not put any more pictures unless discussed in the discussion page. Each model is accounted for.-->
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Model
!Length (ft)
!Picture
!Introduced
!Notes
|-
|[[Gillig Phantom|Phantom]]
|40, 35, 30
|[[Image:GBTA Gillig Phantom 2052.jpg|100px]]<br>[[Image:Poughkeepsie City Bus 282.jpg|100px]]
|1980<ref>Stauss,67</ref>
|Standard high floor bus<ref name=Products>[http://www.gillig.com/New%20GILLIG%20WEB/product.htm Gillig Products], ''gillig.com'', retrieved on 2008-01-21</ref>
|-
|Low Floor <br> ("Advantage")
|40, 35, 29
|[[Image:Shuttle-UM Bus.jpg|100px]]<br>[[Image:CDTA Saratoga Gillig.jpg|100px]]
|1996<ref name=Products/>
|
|-
|Low Floor Hybrid
|40, 35, 29
|[[Image:DART Gillig Advantage hybrid 111.jpg|100px]]
|2004<ref name="Gillig story">[http://www.gillig.com/New%20GILLIG%20WEB/story.htm The Gillig Story... Then and Now], ''gillig.com'', retrieved on 2008-01-21</ref>
|
|-
|Low Floor BRT
|41, 37, 31
|[[Image:CDTA Gillig Hybrid.jpg|100px]]<br>[[Image:StarMetro Gillig BRT 29.jpg|100px]]
|
|Also available with hybrid drivetrain.
|-
|Trolley Replica<ref name="Gillig Trolley">[http://www.gillig.com/New%20GILLIG%20WEB/trolley.htm The Gillig Trolley Bus Replica], ''gillig.com'', retrieved on 2007-10-27</ref>
|35, 30
|[[Image:EMTA Bayliner 3.jpg|100px]]<br>[[Image:Walnut Creek Gillig Trolley.JPG|100px]]
|
|Low Floor variant produced in collaboration with<br>Cable Car Classics of [[Healdsburg, California|Healdsburg, CA]].<ref name="Gillig Trolley"/><ref name="CCC Trolley">[http://www.cablecarclassics.com/lf.html Low Floor Trolley], ''cablecarclassics.com'', retrieved on 2008-01-21</ref>
|}
===Discontinued===
{{expand list}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Model
!Length (ft)
!Picture
!Introduced
!Ended
!Notes
|-
|Phantom Hybrid Bus
|40, 35, 30
|
|2001
|2006
|[[Diesel-electric]] [[Hybrid vehicle|hybrid]] version of the Phantom.
|-
|Phantom School Bus
|37, 40
|
|1986
|1993
|School Bus version of the Phantom
|-
|Spirit
|28
|
|mid-1980s
|late-1980s
|A 28-foot medium-duty bus offered as lower-cost alternative to the 30-foot long Phantom.
|-
|Gillig-Neoplan
|35, 30
|
|1977
|1979
|A [[Rear-engine design|rear-engined]] transit bus built as a joint venture with [[Neoplan]], a German bus manufacturer. Available with either [[diesel]] or [[propane]] engines.
|-
|[[Gillig Transit Coach School Bus|Transit Coach School Bus]]
|
|[[Image:Valley View No4 img13.jpg|100px]]
|1940
|1982
|A long-running lineup of transit-style school buses offered by Gillig prior to the production of the Phantom.
|-
|}
==Preservation of historic Gillig school buses==
Having been a major builder of school buses for over 75 years, interest in the history and preservation of Gillig school buses has grown in recent years, particularly along the west coast where Gillig school buses were most commonly found. The [http://gilligcoaches.net Gillig Transit Coach / Pacific SchoolCoach Online Museum], a website focusing on preserving Gillig's line of earlier-built school buses, was founded by the former owner of a Gillig school bus in 2001, with the aim of increasing general awareness of the older Gillig school buses.
In 2006, efforts began to create an historical society dedicated to the preservation of older Gillig school buses under the "Transit Coach" name, and on August 12, 2006 the official dedication of the Gillig Coach Historical Society occurred at the [http://www.aths.org/ American Truck Historical Society's] 11th Annual Truck Show at the Mason County Fairgrounds in [[Shelton, WA]].
==References==
*[http://www.gillig.com/ Gillig Corporation], ''gillig.com'', retrieved on 2006-12-25
*[http://www.gilligcoaches.net Gillig Transit Coach / Pacific SchoolCoach Online Museum], ''gilligcoaches.net'', retrieved on 2006-12-25
*[http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/g/gillig/gillig.htm Leo Gillig Automobile Works - Gillig Brothers], ''coachbuilt.com'', retrieved on 2006-12-25
*[http://www.northern.edu/diasr/hallscott/history.htm A Brief History of Hall-Scott], ''northern.edu'', retrieved on 2006-12-26
*[http://www.allisontransmission.com/company/pressreleases/June2001/91.jsp GM Brings Clean Mass Transit to Environmental Conference], ''allisontransmission.com'', retrieved on 2006-12-25
*Stauss, Ed (1988). The Bus World Encyclopedia of Buses, Woodland Hills, CA: Stauss Publications. ISBN 0-9619830-0-0
== Notes ==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commonscat|Gillig buses}}
*[http://www.gillig.com/ Gillig Corporation]
*[http://www.gilligcoaches.net GilligCoaches.NET]
*[http://gilligcoaches.net Gillig Transit Coach / Pacific SchoolCoach Online Museum]
*[http://busexplorer.com/PHP/FeaturePage.php?id=28 busexplorer.com Gillig Page]
{{North American bus builders}}
[[Category:Companies established in 1890]]
[[Category:Family businesses]]
[[Category:Bus manufacturers]]
[[Category:Hybrid buses]]
[[Category:Companies based in Alameda County, California]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Hybrid electric bus manufacturers]]