– Despite the pervasive news of crisis and economic slowdown last year, it was a very good period for our company. We managed to achieve our set goals: an increase in production and sales, confirmation of our number one position in the domestic market, and consequently, the maintenance of employment levels. For another consecutive year, we held the position of leader in the domestic bus market. We also increased our shares in foreign markets. Knowing our order plan, I can state that the year 2010 looks equally optimistic – says Solange Olszewska, Chairwoman of the Board of Solaris Bus & Coach S.A.
Solaris in Poland
Total sales of Solaris brand vehicles in 2009 amounted to 1,114 units. This is the best result in the company’s history. Compared to 2008, sales of Solaris vehicles increased by 77 units, which means a 7.5% growth. For another consecutive year, Solaris held the leadership position in Poland. Sales at the level of 262 vehicles gave the company a 27% share of the total bus market. This is exactly the same percentage result as in 2008. Considering only the city bus segment, Solaris’s advantage over competitors was even greater. As many as 53% of new city buses purchased in Poland last year were produced at the Solaris factory. At the end of the previous year, the number of transport companies that have Solaris brand buses in their fleet increased to 93. In total, there are already over 2,500 buses produced in Bolechowo near Poznań in the fleets of Polish carriers.
Export sales
The company’s sales outside the country were record-high in 2009. During the summarized period, as many as 852 Solaris vehicles were delivered to foreign customers. The largest number, 322, reached Greece. This was primarily the result of fulfilling an order for 320 buses for the ETHEL company from Athens. Traditionally, deliveries to Germany accounted for a high share of export sales. As many as 231 buses sold to this country gave the Polish company third place in the market, just behind the domestic giants of the German automotive industry. Solaris’s shares in the city vehicle segment amounted to 9.5% and were the highest among non-German bus manufacturers.
Financial results and employment
In 2009, Solaris’s revenues once again exceeded one billion and amounted to 1,175 million PLN. Compared to 2008, this is 120 million PLN more (an 11% increase). Employment at the end of 2009 was 1,562 people, which means an increase of 12 people compared to the previous year.
– Solaris was one of the few examples of a company in the automotive industry that increased its production, revenue, and employment last year. This year, we want to accelerate the pace of development even further – announces Solange Olszewska, Chairwoman of the Board of the company.
Solaris brand trams
In 2009, the long-awaited premiere of a Solaris brand rail vehicle took place. The fully low-floor, five-section, single-space Solaris Tramino tram was presented to the general public for the first time in October 2009 during the TRAKO fair in Gdańsk. A month later, the company won a tender and signed a contract for the delivery of 40 trams for MPK in Poznań. According to the contract, the first Solaris Tramino vehicles will reach the capital of Greater Poland in June 2011, and deliveries will end in March 2012, before the European Football Championship.
– Currently, the pre-production unit of the Solaris Tramino is undergoing a series of tests in Poznań. At the beginning of March, the tram will begin road traffic tests. In parallel, preparations for the serial production of the trams are underway. In mid-February of this year, we purchased a production hall in Środa Wlkp. – near the bus frame welding shop. In the hall with an area of 3,500 square meters, the production of steel structures will take place, employing about 80 people. In the coming days, a final decision will also be made regarding whether the final assembly of the trams will take place in a hall we will rent or in a completely new facility that we will build from scratch. The final assembly will provide employment for an additional 200-250 people – says Krzysztof Olszewski, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Solaris Bus & Coach S.A., about the tram plans.