Logotipo Plaxton '1907–pr.

1907 – Frederick William Plaxton sets up a joinery workshop in Scarborough. Expansion follows and the company becomes a building contractor, constructing a number of notable buildings around the Yorkshire seaside town. Having diversified into manufacturing bodywork for cars just before the First World War, Plaxton builds its first charabanc in 1918 on a Ford Model T chassis. Within a decade the shift is made to fully enclosed coaches and these quickly become the company’s main activity.

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](/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.

1950 – With a boom in demand for coaches, Plaxton quickly grows beyond its regional customer base to secure business from some of the country’s largest operators. New models, launched in response to advances in chassis design, are elegantly streamlined. From 1950, names are given to the company’s products, and the [Venturer](/plaxton/venturer/) establishes itself as the most successful of this period.

1958 – With the new [Panorama](/plaxton/panorama/1961-xx/) coach, Plaxton sets new standards for the industry. With alternate body pillars stopping at the waist-rail, its wide windows give passengers an unrivalled view. The modern design is further confirmed through a restyle in 1964, and its success ensures that the company rides out consolidation in the industry, leaving it by the end of the 1960s as one of two major coach builders in the United Kingdom.

1968 – A revolution in coach design as the first British coach to feature curved side windows, the [Plaxton Elite](/plaxton/elite/) sets the style for the next two decades. When the new Supreme model replaces it in 1975, its construction still incorporates wood, but three years later it has become an all-steel structure. In addition to British-made chassis of the day, the [Supreme](/plaxton/supreme/) is available on increasingly popular imports, establishing a combination that continues to this day with the choice of [Volvo](/volvo/) chassis.

1982 – In the words of a contemporary advert, "Progress is Paramount": the new [Plaxton Paramount](/plaxton/paramount/) appears in 1982 as an all-new construction to satisfy the burgeoning demand for coaches in the wake of the deregulation of express services at the start of the decade. For the first time, a double deck version is offered, giving unprecedented seating capacity for intercity routes.

1988 – The late 1980s are a period of major organisational change for Plaxton. In 1986 it took over its largest dealer, Kirkby, based at Anston near Sheffield. Two years later, it concentrates its Scarborough production in an expanded plant at Eastfield, where Plaxton continues to operate to this day. It then goes on to buy car sales business Henlys the following year, adopting this name for the group but keeping the Plaxton brand for coaches.

1991 – Plaxton overhauls its coach design with the Premiere and [Excalibur](/plaxton/excalibur/), establishing a sleek look for the 1990s. Featuring tinted windows as standard, the structure is the first to be available in Britain that meets the tough new European R66 roll-over safety legislation. It is an instant success with orders for more than 150 placed at the launch.

1999 – The next generation of Plaxton coaches launches as the [Panther](/plaxton/panther/). Built to the new maximum width of 2.55m, it is Plaxton’s first to be constructed out of stainless steel to better resist corrosion. In updated form, it continues to form the basis for the company’s range today.

2000 – In 1998, Plaxton owner Henlys had attempted to buy the company’s primary chassis supplier, Dennis, only to be outbid by Mayflower, who had acquired [Alexander](/alexander/) three years earlier. In 2000, the two groups combine their UK bus and coach manufacturing interests in TransBus International. Faced with overcapacity and duplicate products, the new company consolidates some of its operations, but manages to retain its major production centres, albeit at a reduced scale.

2005 – Plaxton becomes the first manufacturer in Europe to build coaches with wheelchair access by way of the main passenger entrance when it launches the new [Profile](/plaxton/profile_1/) model. This ability is extended to the Panther the following year, using a cassette lift that neatly tucks away inside the entrance steps, and wheelchair accessibility has since been rolled out across the entire Plaxton coach range.

2008 – Plaxton unveils the new flagship for its coach range, with the eye-catching [Elite](/plaxton/elite/2008-xx/). Described as "perhaps the most distinctive coach on the road", the Elite also sets new standards for aerodynamic efficiency and acts as a statement of intention for Plaxton, by now the last remaining producer of large coaches in Britain.

2018 – The new Panorama reintroduces a double-deck option to the Plaxton coach range. Highly acclaimed upon its launch, the high-capacity vehicle completes a full range of models that ensures that whatever operators need in a coach, the answer is Plaxton.

https://www.alexander-dennis.com/about-us/our-history/