Am Tran - History

History

During the late 1970s, the school bus manufacturing industry was in relative turmoil. A key factor that had driven school bus sales for the past two decades was no longer in place; by 1982, all of the baby boomers would have completed their elementary and secondary education. At the time, Ward was among "the Big Six" full-line school bus manufacturers (Blue Bird, Carpenter, Superior, Thomas, and Wayne). The declining economy of the late 1970s also cut into the profitability of all school bus manufacturers; of the Big Six, Superior and Ward were the hardest hit. Ward survived by providing low cost buses and had a seemingly better system between its management and workers.