Alexander '1913–12.2000

1924 – To satisfy demand for its rapidly growing bus services, Alexander begins to build its own buses at its workshops in Falkirk. Although some of these single deck buses and coaches are sold to other companies, the bulk of the production is for fleets in the Scottish Motor Traction group, which becomes Alexander’s owner in 1929 and operates throughout Scotland.

1939 – With the outbreak of World War Two, the British bus and coach manufacturing industry is restructured to support the war effort. [Dennis] (/dennis/) builds lorries and light armoured vehicles for the War Office, while Plaxton's production is utilised to make munitions boxes. Alexander, on the other hand, is tasked with meeting demand for higher capacity buses and from 1942 the company builds its first double deckers, using a wartime utility design. With the end of hostilities, all three companies quickly return to their established trades.

1958 – While Alexander’s bus services had been nationalised in 1948, the manufacturing interest remained in private hands. This opened the company up to new customers, and a boom in orders in the second half of the 1950s lays the foundation for the move to a new, state-of-the-art factory on Falkirk’s Glasgow Road – which remains in use, extended and adapted, over 65 years later.

1961 – Alexander builds the first of a new single decker, the Y type. The highly adaptable design is available in four lengths and can be fitted out as a bus, a dual-purpose vehicle or a coach on front, underfloor or rear-engined chassis. Although it also appeals to many operators south of the border, it becomes the standard vehicle for the Scottish Bus Group during the type’s 22-year production run.

1972 – With the new AL type double decker, Alexander introduces aluminium for the body structure, reducing weight and improving resistance to corrosion. Although modular specification options result in visually varied vehicles, the buses remain the same under the skin, making them easy to maintain and support. The AL type continues Alexander’s growth from a primarily Scottish manufacturer to a leading position across the UK.

1975 – In response to demand from Hong Kong for its market-leading designs, Alexander exports buses for the first time in its history. Instead of sending built-up vehicles, it decides to produce kits of completely-knocked-down bodies for local assembly and sets up an office in the territory, establishing a local presence that continues to this day and which facilitates further vehicle sales across the Asia Pacific region, with the first buses arriving in Singapore in 1979.

1981 – The R type is Alexander’s new style of double deck bus body, introducing a more angular styling at the start of the 1980s. Continuing the company’s success, it soon becomes an easily recognisable part of the bus scene in Britain, Ireland and Hong Kong. Enjoying a production run of nearly 20 years, it will be adapted to a wide range of chassis and engine positions to suit a changing market environment.