Custom / Denning History PMC Commonwealth Engineering Smithfield Bus & Coach Works CUSTOM BUS GROUP DENNING MANUFACTURING ▪ Circa 1875 - JA Lawton Established ▪ 1911 - Stanley Hillsdon starts manufacturing bycicles ▪ 1921 - Smith & Waddington is founded. (Commencing in the Sydney suburb of Camperdown building bodies for motorcars and buses) ▪ 1935 - Stanley Hillsdon Founded Cycle Components Manufacturing Company (CCMC) in Guildford, Sydney, NSW ▪ 1939 - Reformed after the great depression, Smith & Waddington is renamed Waddingtons Body Works and moves to Granville. ▪ 1946 - After taking control of the business during world war 2, to produce war effort materials, in 1946 the Government purchases a controlling stake of the buses and ▪ 1946 - Company awarded contract to changes the name to Commonwealth manufacture reversible seats for Engineering. Sydney Tram System ▪ 1949 - Second Factory established in Rocklea Queensland. ▪ 1950 - Alan B Denning establishes his panel beating company. ▪ 1952 - A plant is established in Bassendean, Western Australia ▪ 1955 - CCMC successfully tendered to supply bodies for 125 single deck Leyland Royal Tiger, Worldmaster ▪ 1954 - Another plant purchased in buses NSW Department of Government Dandenong, Victoria. Transport. ▪ 1956 - Jack Violet (Hillsdons nephew by marriage), is employed as ▪ 1956 - Alan B Denning commences Operations Manager for the Bus building buses, founding A.B Denning Division & Co ▪ 1957 - The Government sells its shares to Comeng. ▪ 1958 - CCMC bodied their first bus for a private operator, being a Leyland Comet for Rowes Bus Service ▪ 1960 - JA Lawton Merges with Freighter & becomes Freighter- Lawton ▪ 1962 - CCMC Stanley Hillsdon passes control of the company to Jack Violet. During this time the company is renamed Custom Coaches Manufacturing Company. ▪ 1963 - Rebranded Freighter Industries. ▪ 1965 -Freighter enter into a bus body assembly arangement with Hino for supply of Buses to the Australian Bus Market. ▪ 1967 - CCMC enter into an agreement with Melbourne bodybuiler, WA Newnham & Sons, for CCMC to supply frames and other components. ▪ 1967 - CCMC enter into agreements to supply components to Brisbane bodybuilder Watt Brothers ▪ 1968 - Denning sells to Leyland Corporation Australia. ▪ 1971 - Smithfield Bus & Coach Works founded, after brother Bob & ▪ 1971 - Commonwealth Engineering John Bosnjak purchase bus body (COMENG) sell body building designs building designs & jigs from and jigs to Smithfield Bus & Coach Commonwealth Engineering Works. (COMENG) ▪ 1972 - CCMC enter into agreements to supply components to Perth based Transport Equipment builder Howard Porter. ▪ 1975 - Freighter Industries is sold to Leyland Corporation Australia & is rebranded PMCSA (Leyland currently own Denning) ▪ 1981 - CCMC (Custom Coaches ▪ 1981 - Smithfield Bus & Coach is manufacturing Company) Purchases sold to Custom Coaches Smithfield Bus & Coach Works from the Manufacturing Company. Bosnjak family. ▪ 1982 - Comeng sells shares to Australian National Industries. ▪ 1983 - Leyland Australia Ceases to exist and is taken over by JRA Limited. ▪ 1988 - JRA Limited purchases ▪ 1988 - CCMC purchases WA ▪ 1988 - JRA Limited purchases Austral (Australian Manufacturing Newnham & Sons with the business Dennings biggest competitor Austral Group, Dennings Biggest Competitor) renamed Newnham Custom (Australian Manufacturing). ▪ 1990 - JRA Limited closes the Denning plant in Acacia Ridge & moves production to the Austral Facility in Geebung. ▪ 1991 - Following the closure of the Sydney plant (Press Metal Corporation), PMCSA is renamed PMC Australia. ▪ 1992 - Denning Plant in Acacia Ridge closes and operations are moved to the Austral factory. The business is then rebranded Austral Denning. ▪ 1994 - Alan B Denning Co is Established. ▪ 1996 - Leyland Australia & all ▪ 1996 - JRA including all assets subsidiaries, PMC, Austral Denning (Leyland, Austral Denning etc) are etc within JRA Limited, are sold to sold to Clifford Corporation & Clifford Corporation. rebranded Austral Pacific. ▪ 1998 - Clifford Corporation ▪ 1998 - Clifford Corporation collapses. collapses. ▪ 1999 - PMC is sold to the ▪ 1999 - Consortium of CCMC, Bosnjak consortium of CCMC (Custom Group & John Hewson purchase PMC Coaches Manufacturing Company), Australia after the collapse of Clifford Bosnjak Group, & John Hewson. Corporation ▪ 1995 - New plant opened at Arundel on the Gold Coast. ▪ 2000 - Australian Bus Manufacturing in Adelaide is purchased ▪ 2001 - Newnham Custom closes with production transferred to Adelaide. ▪ 2001 - Custom Care Established ▪ 2002 - Mark Burgess (Great-nephew of Hillsdon by marriage) becames CEO of the company ▪ 2003 - Alan B Denning Co is placed in administration. ▪ 2003 - AB Denning plant is purchased by Denning Manufacturing ▪ 2004 - Australian Bus Manufacturing is rebranded as Custom Coaches ▪ 2005 - Brothers Mark & Paul Burgess, with long-term business partner, Chris Absalom, complete the purchase of the business from Jack Violet & remains as Custom Coaches. ▪ 2010 - Sydney plant moved to new premises in Villawood ▪ 2012 - Custom Coaches is purchased by British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis ▪ 2014 - May 2014 - Custom Coaches is placed into administration ▪ 2014 - August 2014 The business is purchased back by Mark Burgess & Allegro. The company is renamed Custom Bus ▪ 2014 - September 2014 The Royal Park, South Australia plant closes ▪ 2018 - February 2018 Custom Bus is again placed in administration ▪ 2018 - March 2018 Custom Bus is purchased by the Dunn Group & Rebranded Custom Bus Group Pty Ltd. ▪ 2019 - October 2019, The Australian Iconic Brand Denning is purchased by the Dunn Group..