Solaris Bus & Coach is a Polish producer of

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

vehicles (

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es,

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...

es and

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

s), with its headquarters in Bolechowo-Osiedle near

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

. It is a subsidiary of Spanish CAF. Solaris owns four production sites: its main factory and headquarters in Bolechowo (final assembly of buses and trolleybuses), two plants in

Środa Wielkopolska Środa Wielkopolska (until 1968 ''Środa''; german: Schroda) is a town in western-central Poland, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, about southeast of Poznań, with 22,001 inhabitants (2009). It is the seat of Środa Wielkopolska Count ...

(a welding shop for bodyframes of buses and trolleybuses and a welding shop for tram bodies) as well as a final assembling hall for

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

, located in Poznań, in Wieruszowska street. The firm arose from the enterprise Neoplan Polska established in 1994. A production facility was launched in Bolechowo-Osiedle near Poznań in 1996. The first low-floor bus produced in Bolechowo rolled off the assembly line on 22 March 1996 and it is this very date that is understood as the beginning of the company's history. 1999 saw the première of the first city bus of the Solaris brand – the

Solaris Urbino 12 Solaris Urbino 12 is a series of 12.0-metre low-floor buses from the Solaris Urbino series designed for public transport, produced since 1999 by the Polish company Solaris Bus & Coach in Bolechowo near Poznań in Poland. Since 2010 a hybrid vers ...

. In 2001 the company was rebranded into Solaris Bus & Coach Sp. z o.o., only to be converted from a

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

into a

joint-stock company A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certificates ...

. The company is not listed on the

stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...

. Solaris city buses are available in diverse drive configurations as well as bodywork sizes and types. In 2006, Solaris became the first manufacturer to market, in Europe, the first serially produced hybrid drive bus Solaris Urbino 18 Hybrid. The portfolio of the bus maker covers conventionally fuelled vehicles (diesel) as well as those with an alternative drive (electric, hybrid and CNG buses or trolleybuses). The Solaris Urbino 12 electric was the first Polish, and the first electric bus at that, to win an international title for the year Bus and Coach of the Year 2017. In July 2018, it was announced that Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) had acquired Solaris.

History

Neoplan Polska

In 1994, Krzysztof Olszewski founded the company Neoplan Polska Sp. z o.o., a branch office for the Polish market of German bus brand

Neoplan Neoplan Bus GmbH is a German automotive company that manufactures buses, trolleybuses and coaches. It is a subsidiary of MAN Truck & Bus SE. History Foundations The company was founded by Gottlob Auwärter in Stuttgart in 1935, and man ...

. In 1995, this enterprise won a tender for the delivery of 72

low-floor Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

city buses for Poznań. The tender was made conditional upon locating the bus manufacturing factory in the vicinity of Poznań. As a result, the company launched an assembly plant for buses in Bolechowo-Osiedle. The first bus produced by Neoplan Polska came fresh off the production line on 22 March 1996. Having carried out the order for Poznań, the firm went on to reach the position of Polish market leader in the segment of low-floor city buses. Initially, the Bolechowo plant manufactured licence-based buses of the Neoplan family: * Neoplan N4009 *

Neoplan N4016 The Neoplan N4016 was a Low-floor bus, low-floor single-decker bus built by Neoplan between 1988 and 1999, initially at Stuttgart in Germany and later also in Poland. It is the larger version of the Neoplan N4009 midibus. The N4016 is remembered ...

* Neoplan N4020 * Neoplan N4021Marcin Stiasny: ''Atlas autobusów''. Poznań: Poznański Klub Modelarzy Kolejowych, 2008 The buses stood out from other ones thanks to their reliability and the quality of execution, but above all thanks to their innovative design and, which was a novelty back then, its accessibility for elderly and disabled people thanks to the low floor. An element distinguishing the Neoplan buses produced in Poland from those made abroad was the green dachshund logo pasted onto the left-hand corner of the front face. It was supposed to symbolise the low-floor feature of the bus and the simplicity of use. The colour of the dachshund was a reference to the company's environmental commitment in the production of public transport vehicles. The green dachshund has remained the symbol of the company to this day. In the second half of the 1990s, the company Neoplan Polska expanded its own technical office in charge of research and development. Back then, the company was already using software that allowed it to shorten the time needed to design and build a prototype of a new model. Towards the end of the 1990s Neoplan launched a new generation of city buses. However, Mr Olszewski decided not to launch their production in the Bolechowo plant, as they would not meet with interest in Poland on account of their exorbitant price. Then, in 1998, the Neoplan Polska engineers constructed the first city bus to be produced only in Bolechowo – the Neoplan K4016TD (and its shorter version, the Neoplan K4010TD), for marketing purposes dubbed ''Olibus''. 1999 saw the début of the first city bus of the

Solaris Urbino Solaris Urbino is a series of low-floor buses and low-entry doorway intercity buses, powered by diesel drive engines and alternative fuel (CNG, gas and biogas, hybrid and electric), produced by the Polish company Solaris Bus & Coach in Bo ...

family (see: section City and intercity buses). To begin with Neoplan Polska was tied by its contract with

, so the company of Mr Olszewski was able to sell buses only in Poland or in countries in central and eastern Europe. In 2001, Neoplan was taken over by German company

MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

. That is why on 1 September 2001, the firm Neoplan Polska was turned into a

private limited company A private limited company is any type of business entity in "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Examples include the '' LLC'' in the United Sta ...

(pol. ''spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością)'', and its name was changed to Solaris Bus & Coach Sp. z o.o. Krzysztof and Solange Olszewski became the sole owners. From that point on the export of Solaris buses was no longer limited by contracts with Neoplan, and all ties to that company were rendered invalid. On 1 July 2005 the company was transformed into

(pol.''spółka akcyjna'') Solaris Bus & Coach S.A.. Years later Solange Olszewska notes: “My husband and I were looking for a name that would evoke positive connotations in all languages, that would be easy to pronounce and would be related to the future. We were unable to find anything suitable. Then, among hundreds of words, we noticed “solaris” – a simple name, bringing to mind positive associations with sunshine and beginning with the same letter as my first name. File:Neoplan N4009 Poznań.JPG, Neoplan N4009 File:Neoplan N4016 - KM Kołobrzeg.JPG,

File:Neoplan K4016td 292 MZK Grudziądz.jpg, Neoplan K4016td File:Neoplan Transliner N316 SHD - PKS Gliwice.jpg, Neoplan Transliner

Acquisition by CAF

On 5 September 2018 Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) finalised its acquisition of Solaris Bus & Coach. This was following an announcement on 3 July 2018. Additionally, CAF has entered into an agreement with the

Polish Development Fund The Polish Development Fund (PFR) ( pl, Polski Fundusz Rozwoju) is a state-owned financial group, headquartered in Warsaw, which offers instruments supporting the development of companies, local governments and individuals, and invests in sustainab ...

for the acquisition by the latter of a minority stake in Solaris (35%) in the same terms and conditions agreed in by CAF in the acquisition of Solaris. On 4 October 2018, Javier Calleja was named CEO.

Models

City and intercity buses

The first buses of the Solaris Urbino family were designed by a group of Polish engineers in collaboration with Berlin-based designer office IFS Designatelier under the leadership of Krzysztof Olszewski. In May 1999, at the

Poznań International Fair The Poznań International Fair (PIF, pl, Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie, MTP) is the biggest industrial fair in Poland. It is held on the Poznań fairground in Poland. Poznań International Fair is located in the centre of the city opposite ...

Motor Show, the company unveiled its low-floor city bus MAXI class

. Two other models of the MEGA class premièred that same year – the

Solaris Urbino 15 Solaris Urbino 15, Solaris Urbino 15 CNG is a low floor tri-axle single-decker bus from the Solaris Urbino series, for public transportation vehicles. In 1999–2001, the company ''Neoplan Polska'' manufactured the bus. It is the successor of th ...

and the Solaris Urbino 18. 2000 saw the market launch of the smallest member of the bus family – Solaris Urbino 9. A bodyframe made completely of stainless steel and the asymmetric front windscreen are turning into typical features of all buses of the Urbino family. The new series of city buses was characterised by the modern design and innovative technical solutions (e.g. the asymmetric line of the front windscreen improves the driver's field of vision). The first generation buses were made chiefly for the Polish market. In March 2000 the company sold the first vehicle to a non-Polish company; the Solaris Urbino 15 went to DPO from the Czech city of

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

. The first-generation Solaris Urbino buses have also made it to Slovakia, Latvia, and Germany. The second generation Urbinos premièred in 2002. The manufacturer introduced small modifications compared to the predecessors, so the second generation was a transition between the first and the third edition of the Urbino. What is more, the new Solaris Urbino 10 was introduced, replacing the Urbino 9. The year 2002 was also a historic moment for the company, as it marks the first time that export sales double and foreign orders exceed the volume of domestic commissions 2002 saw also the unveiling of the first Solaris intercity bus, dubbed Solaris Valletta for commercial purposes. The vehicle was designed for a regional operator, based in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It was the first Solaris bus adapted to

left-hand traffic Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes referred to ...

. 2004 saw also the début of the intercity low-entry bus model Solaris Urbino 12 LE. In September 2004, the third generation of Solaris Urbino buses had its début; serial production of those models kicked off in spring 2005. Many style and construction modifications were undertaken. It is this model that enabled the company's global success internationally. Moreover, in 2004, the company presented also the Solaris Urbino 15 CNG model – the first Solaris bus running on

compressed natural gas Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...

. The Solaris Urbino participated in a contest titled Bus of the Year 2005, where it came second, losing by a whisker to

MAN Lion's City The MAN Lion's City is a range of low-floor and low-entry public buses built by German truck and bus manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus (previously MAN Nutzfahrzeuge) since 1996 primarily for the European market, but is also available in chassis-on ...

. In 2006, Solaris became the first European manufacturer to present a serially produced hybrid drive bus – the Solaris Urbino 18 hybrid. In 2011 the company also launched a hybrid model of 12 meters. In 2006 the company launched production of a 15 cm shorter model, 8.6 m long, i.e. the model Solaris Alpino, designed specifically for narrow streets of city centres and also less frequented communication routes. In 2008, the company extended the production line by two low-entry models, the Solaris Alpino 8,9 LE and the Solaris Urbino 15 LE. Also low-floor CNG- or biogas-fuelled models, designed specifically for buyers in Scandinavian countries, were launched around that time. Mid-2009 the company designed the first prototypes of the intercity bus Solaris InterUrbino 12 which premièred in September 2009 at the Transexpo trade fair. In September 2011, Solaris presented the prototype of the fully electric MIDI class city bus: the

Solaris Urbino 8,9 LE electric Solaris Urbino 8,9 LE electric is a low-entry electric city bus, that debuted in autumn 2011. It was produced by the company Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. from Bolechowo near Poznań. Its design is based on the Solaris Urbino 8,9 LE. It was the first ...

. The first buyer of that electric Solaris bus was an Austrian carrier from

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

. A year later, at the IAA trade fair in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, the producer unveiled the 12-metre version of its electric bus, the Solaris Urbino 12 electric. The first such model was sold in 2013, to an operator in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

, Germany. That is also, where the first articulated electric buses - the Solaris Urbino 18 electric - went to. In 2014 the producer supplied its innovative city buses Solaris Urbino 18,75 electric to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

; these vehicles were the first to use a

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...

as an additional power source. In September 2014, during the IAA trade fair in Hanover (world première), and in October that year, at the Transexpo trade fair in Kielce (Polish premiere), Solaris presented the new generation of Solaris Urbino buses – initially only with conventional drives and in the length versions 12 and 18 metres. This time, the producer introduced more modifications to the design compared to the predecessor buses. The design was profoundly amended and many technical innovations were applied. Over the next years, Solaris showed off a range of new generation models (the firm started using that name instead of the fourth generation, to distinguish it from the older model), though it continued to concurrently manufacture vehicles of the third generation. In 2016 Solaris announced that the new generation Solaris Urbino 12 electric would compete in the “Bus Euro Test 2016” for the title Bus and Coach of the Year 2017. In the contest, the Solaris bus faced off against three competitors – the buses also evaluated in the test were the Mercedes-Benz Citaro C2 NGT, the

Van Hool Van Hool NV () is a Belgium, Belgian family-owned coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, Coach (bus), coaches, trolleybuses, and Semi-trailer, trailers. Most of the buses and coaches are built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axle ...

Exqui.City 18, the

Irizar Irizar i4LE in Madrid Irizar Group is a Spanish-based manufacturer of luxury buses and coaches. Established in 1889, the company is located in Ormaiztegi in the Basque Country, Spain. With a commercial presence in over 90 countries, its ...

i2e and the Ebusco 2.01. Solaris turned out the final winner – thus becoming the first Polish bus to secure this title and the first electric bus ever to win this distinction. Solaris supplies complete buses, i.e. it does not use the chassis of other manufacturers. However, it does implement components made by other sub-suppliers. It installs diesel engines and CNG engines made by

Paccar Paccar Inc is an American ''Fortune'' 500 company and counts among the largest manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the world, and has substantial manufacturing in light and medium vehicles through its various subsidiaries. It was ...

/ DAF,

Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...

, whereas the transmissions are supplied by

Voith The Voith Group is a German manufacturer of machines for the pulp and paper industry, technical equipment for hydropower plants and drive and braking systems. The family-owned company, which operates worldwide and has its headquarters in Hei ...

ZF Friedrichshafen ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally ''Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen'', and commonly abbreviated to ZF (ZF = "Zahnradfabrik" = "Cogwheel Factory"), is a German car parts maker headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south- ...

. In the case of hybrid drives, Solaris vehicles use

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

. On 29 November 2016 Solaris became the leader of a technological cluster named “Polish Electric Bus - supply chain for electromobility”. The goal of the cluster is the design of electric buses, batteries and charging options. The cluster consists of: Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza (University of Science and Technology), Politechnika Poznańska (Poznań University of Technology), Politechnika Warszawska (Warsaw University of Technology), EC Grupa, Ekoenergetyka Polska, Impact Clean Power Technology, Medcom, Instytut Napędów i Maszyn Elektrycznych KOMEL and SKB Drive. Later on companies El-Cab and ENEA joined the cluster. In 2018 Solaris announced the debut of the three following vehicles: the Solaris Trollino 24, the

hydrogen with a hydrogen drive and the Solaris Urbino 12 LE lite hybrid, meaning a low-entry and low-emission bus involving lower operating costs. File:Solaris Urbino 12 in Kielce (327).jpg, Solaris Urbino 12 of I generation File:Solaris Urbino15 8624 CH Marki.JPG, Solaris Urbino 15 of II generation File:Urbino 18 Hybrid Ettenhuber.jpg, Solaris Urbino 18 hybrid of III generation File:BVG-204-Solaris-Urbino-12-electric-Torgauer-Str-1.jpg, Solaris Urbino 12 III generation File:Solaris InterUrbino 12 - Link-BUS (3).jpg, Solaris InterUrbino 12 I generation File:Sol060.jpg, Solaris InerUrbino 12,8 of II generation

Coaches

In the first years of operation, Neoplan Polska also handled the assembly of the

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

Neoplan Transliner The Neoplan Transliner in Europe is a single-decker bus, single-decker inter-urban coach (vehicle), coach and rental coach built by Neoplan, Neoplan Bus GmbH for the European market in 1990s, of either a single-axle or multi-axle bus design. Som ...

and

Neoplan Skyliner The Neoplan Skyliner is a double-deck multi-axle luxury touring coach built by German coach manufacturer Neoplan. It was introduced in 1964. History In 1964, the founder's second son, Konrad Auwärter, developed a double-deck design for ...

. Serial production of the tourist coach of the company's own design Solaris Vacanza 12 began one year after the official unveiling in August 2001. The design of these coaches was drafted by the Berlin-based enterprise IFS Designatelier. A characteristic feature of these vehicles is the wedge-shaped bodywork line. Engines made by DAF were used for the driveline. In 2004, the company launched production of the longer model Solaris Vacanza 13. In 2003 the Solaris Vacanza was ranked second (''ex aequo'' with the

Volvo 9700 The Volvo 9700 is a range of coaches manufactured by Volvo. It was introduced in 2001 as a replacement for the Carrus Star and Vector/Regal models. There are three main models in different heights; 9700S (3.42 m), 9700H (3.61 m) and 9700HD (3.73 ...

) in the contest Coach of the Year 2004, right behind such brands as MAN Lion's Star and

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...

Irizar PB, which took the first place ''ex aequo''. Due to limited sales, Solaris decided to eliminate them from its offer in 2011.Solaris Bus & Coach S.A., ''Solaris. Power of Enthusiasm'', 2013. In 2002 Solaris assembled its first special purpose vehicle - a mobile blood donation station based on the Vacanza coach. Solaris bloodmobiles have been used in many Polish cities, but have also been sold to Riga. In 2018, Solaris presented the first fully electric special vehicle for blood donation, based on the Urbino 8.9 LE model. File:Solaris Vacanza 12 Autobus LU 5152J, Kamel Travel, Lublin. - Flickr - sludgegulper.jpg, Solaris Vacanza 12 File:Solaris Vacanza 13 - Transpol.jpg, Solaris Vacanza 13 File:Wikivacanza.jpg, Solaris Vacanza 12 as a blood donation vehicle File:Sol032.jpg, Solaris Vacanza 13 as a blood donation vehicle File:Sol035.jpg, Blood donation vehicle inside

Trolleybuses

The Solaris Trollino

es have been produced since 2001, based on low-floor buses of the

series. The first Trollino 12 units were created in collaboration with PKT Gdynia. In 2002, the company launched serial production of longer trolleybuses, namely 15-metre and 18-metre versions. The Solaris Trollino 15 was the first trolleybus in the world of that length. Originally, the vehicles were made with drives manufactured by Hungarian company Ganz Transelektro and Czech firm

Cegelec Cegelec is a French engineering company specialized in electrical infrastructure, HVAC, information technology, nuclear energy development, transport infrastructure, robotics and offering both public and private services. Cegelec was officiall ...

. In spring 2007, Solaris and the firm Medcom from

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

decided to build a prototype of the trolleybus Solaris Trollino 12, fitted with an asynchronous drive made in Poland. It was created in August 2007 and was then submitted for tests in

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

. Two more vehicles were made for public operator MPK Lublin. Tychy-based TLT, too, is authorised to assemble and obtain the type approval for the Trollino model. The Solaris Trollino trolleybuses are available in various length versions: 12, 15 and 18 meter models. In Poland, the Trollino can be encountered on the streets of

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

Tychy Tychy (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Tichau; szl, Tychy) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, approximately south of Katowice. Situated on the southern edge of the Upper Silesian industrial district, the city boders Katowice to the north, ...

and Lublin. They have also been delivered for the trolleybus network that is being rebuilt in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(the battery version which enables driving in the city centre while detached from the traction line) and for the existing networks in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...

Opava Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava (river), Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a histori ...

and

. In 2009, the first trolleybus made it to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. The Solaris Trollino is also available in a special version with a ''MetroStyle'' bodywork that has an affinity to the style of the Solaris Tramino tram. Trolleybuses of that type have been supplied to

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

, Esslingen and

Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló de la Plana), or simply Castellón ( ca-valencia, Castelló, link=no) is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...

. File:Trollino 12T 1.JPG, Solaris Trollino 12 of I generation File:Trol Solaris Trollino 15 Ostrava.jpg, Solaris Trollino 15 of II generation File:Dwa trolejbusy na Dworcu PKP.jpg, Solaris Trollino 12 of III generation File:75-ös trolibusz (9007).jpg, Solaris Trollino 18 of III generation File:Sol113.jpg, Solaris Trollino 18 MetroStyle

Trams

In March 2006 Solaris Bus & Coach signed a contract with

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...

and German firm

Vossloh Kiepe Kiepe Electric GmbH (formerly Vossloh Kiepe) is a German manufacturer of electrical traction equipment for trams, trolleybuses other road and rail transport vehicles, as well as air-conditioning and heating systems, and conveyor device components. ...

on the assembly of trams in Poland. In 2006 these companies won a tender for the supply of 24 trams of the Bombardier NGT6/2 type for

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

and 3 for

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

. Under the cooperation agreement, Bombardier Transportation supplied the bodyworks and carriages, Vossloh Kiepe provided the electric fittings and Solaris ensured the delivery of the remaining components and the assembly of the vehicles, in collaboration with MPK Kraków. The assembly of the trams for Cracow took place in the tram depot Zajezdnia Podgórze. 2007 saw the delivery of three ordered vehicles to Gdańsk and of eight vehicles for MPK Kraków. Mid-2009 Solaris presented the prototype of its own tram, named Solaris Tramino. Its début took place on 14 October 2009 during the Trako trade fair in Gdańsk. Solaris scored its first commission for trams of its own design when it won a tender for the supply of 45 trams to the operator MPK in Poznań. The delivery of the vehicles started in July 2011 and ended in May 2012. The second tender for Solaris concerned an order for 5 bi-articulated fully low-floor trams adapted to a 1000 mm track gauge, placed by Jenaer Nahverkehr – a public transport operator from the German city of

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

. The tram cars have been fitted with two driver cabins, three bogies, including four axles integrated with a 90 kW motor, and an air conditioning system for the passenger compartment. The trams were delivered in 2013. They were the first ones produced in Poland and sold to a customer in Germany. As part of the third tender in 2014, Solaris provided 18 tri-articulated trams riding on a 1100 mm track gauge to

in Germany. These were the longest trams made by Solaris. In August 2012 Solaris won a tender for the supply of 15 double-ended trams for the newly built tram network in Olsztyn. This vehicle features many state-of-the-art solutions, such as traction batteries allowing for a short-distance ride without a connection to the traction line. These are also the least noise-emitting trams in Poland. The 15 vehicles were supplied in 2015. At the beginning of February 2015 Solaris won a commission for the supply of 41 trams to the Leipzig-based public transport operator Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe GmbH in Germany. The new trams for the Saxon buyer have been given a completely new design, in compliance with the customer's wishes. However, references to the former Tramino construction have been maintained. The longest vehicle of the family (37 630 mm) was named ''Tramino XL''. The official première of the Tramino for Leipzig took place in February 2017, marking also the beginning of the delivery. On 20 September 2016, at the InnoTrans trade fair in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, the company announced that it had started cooperation with

Stadler Rail Stadler Rail is a Swiss manufacturer of railway rolling stock, with an emphasis on regional train multiple units and trams. It is also focused on niche products, such as being one of the last European manufacturers of rack railway rolling stock ...

– a Swiss rolling stock producer. The consortium won a tender for the delivery of 50 trams for public transport operator MPK S.A. from

. On 9 December 2016, Solaris announced the establishment of the

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...

Solaris Tram. The company started operation on 1 January 2017, with Zbigniew Palenica assuming the post of CEO, whereas the shares are divided between Solaris and Stadler Rail at a 40:60. In July 2017 Solaris Tram secured its first order, for the supply, to Braunschweig, of seven trams featuring a similar design as the vehicles from the previous contract. File:Gdansk tramwaj 1007.jpg, Bombardier NGT6/2 in Gdańsk File:Solaris Tramino.JPG, Prototype of Solaris Tramino File:Solaris Tramino 538.jpg, Solaris Tramino Poznań File:Solaris Tramino Jena 2014.jpg, Solaris Tramino Jena File:Leipzig NGT10 Linie4 06.jpg, Solaris Tramino XL in Leipzig File:SOLARIS BUS & COACH Tramino Brauschweig (15359190390).jpg, Solaris Tramino Brauschweig

Company management and staff

Company management

Source:.

Number of employees

In the first year of operation there were 36 employees working in the production hall. In the following years, as new production halls were launched and production expanded, the staff number kept growing. In 2005 Solaris reported a headcount of 1000. As of 2018 Solaris employs 2300 people in Poland and in foreign agencies.

Commercial symbols

Logo

Initially, Neoplan Polska did not use its

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

– it relied on the symbol of holding company Neoplan. The first logotype of Solaris was presented in 2001, when Solaris Bus & Coach Sp. z o.o. was officially established. It featured a stylised inscription reading Solaris, enclosed in an ellipse. Moreover, for buses the company used a complex logo on a black background, where the letter O was replaced by a planet, whereas the letter A was set against a star in the backdrop. In 2005 a new graphic system for Solaris was shown. The company introduced the characteristic logotype resembling the letter S. In 2012 the company launched an overhauled version of the symbol making it bolder and changing the interior filling of the letter S. What is more, the stylised name Solaris, in line with the design from 2001, is placed underneath the graphic symbol.

Advertising slogan

In 2005 Solaris introduced its first advertising slogan: “Power of Enthusiasm”. It was in use until 2017, when the company replaced it with the slogan “Wspólny kierunek” (Polish for ''Common direction'').

Green dachshund

The green dachshund is the mascot of the company Solaris. It used to be attached to Neoplan Polska buses, distinguishing them from vehicles produced in other Neoplan factories. It was created by the company's vice-president of the day, Solange Olszewska. The dachshund resembles a low-floor bus in shape, but it also symbolises the loyalty towards customers and low operating costs. The green colour is a symbol of concern for the natural environment. Its image is glued to the outside of the bus, usually on the front face, on the left side of the vehicle (when looking in the travel direction). A plush toy version of the symbol is often handed out during official release of buses to customers. In the case of the first and second generation and for some third-generation vehicles, the logo included the word “low-floor” written in the language of the country in question (e.g. “Niederflur” for Germany or “niskopodłogowy” for Poland). In the case of low-entry buses, the inscription was changed accordingly to “low-entry”. Standard buses of the Urbino family (with diesel or natgas engines) feature a dachshund logo in the basic form, whereas other drive or construction types have their distinguishing feature represented in the image of the dachshund, as shown in the table below:

Products

Production and sales

Solaris buses have found buyers in over 700 cities in 32 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia (as of: 01.07.2018). The furthest Solaris buses have ventured from Bolechowo so far is the island of

Reunion Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to: Places * Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean * Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, U ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. Solaris has been leader of sales in Poland of new city buses with a DMC of more than 8 t since 2003 without interruption. The number of buses, trolleybuses and trams sold by Solaris was biggest for Poland (5528), Germany (2960), the Czech Republic (860), Italy (829), Sweden (616), France (523) and Norway (478).

Production facilities

The production of Solaris vehicles is handled in four production facilities situated in the vicinity of

and in the city itself. The headquarters is located in Bolechowo-Osiedle. That is also where the final stage of production takes place. Furthermore, Solaris operates two plants in

and one in Poznań. According to company plans, within the framework of the

joint-venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

of Solaris and

, as of 2019 the final assembly of Solaris Tramino trams is to be executed in the Stadler Polska plants located in

Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...

. In 2017 Solaris launched yet another plant – the Solaris Logistics Center – located in Jasin near Poznań. The new distribution centre and spare part warehouse was to streamline the order implementation process and raising the level of after-sales customer care.

Bolechowo-Osiedle

The factory in Bolechowo-Osiedle is the biggest production facility of Solaris. That is where the final stage of bus production takes place. Opened in 1996, is the oldest factory of Solaris, created for the execution of an order for buses for MPK Poznań. In 2014 the company started expanding the factory, adding additional production and office space. The following extension of that facility began in 2018. Annual output amounts to 1300–1400 vehicles, meaning that every day 5 to 8 new buses roll off the assembly line in Bolechowo. The average production time for one city bus is approx. 20 working days. Offices are located next to the production hall, constituting the headquarters of Solaris Bus & Coach. Since 2016, it is possible to sneak a peek at the interior of the factory and the office building in Bolechowo using

Google Street View Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world. It was launched in 2007 in several cities in the United States, and has since expa ...

Środa Wielkopolska

The facility in Środa Wielkopolska specialises in the production of steel bodyframes for buses and rolling stock. Solaris bought the factory in 1998, following the bankruptcy of the former owner, TRAMAD. The facility in Środa Wielkopolska employs about 360 people. About 8 bodyframes are completed here every day. In 2018, the company started the concurrent extension of the steel structure plant in Środa Wielkopolska and the plant in Bolechowo. The second production hall in Środa Wielkopolska was launched in 2009, to serve the needs of orders for Solaris Tramino trams for the public transport operator MPK Poznań. Specialising in tram bodyframes, this particular facility caters only for the production of Tramino trams.

Poznań

The factory in Poznań at Wieruszewska street is a facility focusing on the production of rolling stock, where the final assembly of Solaris Tramino trams takes place. Just like the plant in Środa Wielkopolska, this facility was built to handle orders placed by MPK Poznań. Earlier prototype models of trams were manufactured in production halls of external firms.

Biggest orders

E.THE.L Athens

At the beginning of 2008 the municipal bus operator from Athens, E..THE.L, issued an invitation to tender for 320 city buses – namely 220 MIDI-class and 100 MAXI-class vehicles. Solaris’ bid was singled out from among others and so, in July 2008, the company signed a contract for the supply of 100 Urbino 18 and 220 Alpino 8,6 buses. The contract value exceeded EUR 80 million. The deliveries were completed by the end of 2009.

Cotral Lazio

At the beginning of 2016, Solaris won a contract for the delivery of 300 suburban buses for the operator Cotral from the Italian region of

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. This contract was worth nearly EUR 110 million. Under this contract, Solaris supplied 12-metre buses of the Solaris InterUrbino category. The buses were provided with, among others, baggage holds, air-conditioning and rear-view reversing cameras. The drive consists of a diesel engine made by DAF.

BVG Berlin

In 2004 Solaris secured an order of

Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe The (German: 'Berlin Transport Company') is the main public transport company of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It manages the city's underground railway, tram, bus, replacement services (, EV) and ferry networks, but not the urban ra ...

for the supply of 260 city buses of the MEGA class (130 + 130 under a contractual option). Following this contract, there are now 260 low-floor Solaris Urbino 18 buses of the third generation driving on the streets of Berlin. They joined 10 older Urbino 18 buses of the previous generation, already in use in the city.

RTA Dubai

Towards the end of 2006 the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority (the municipal transport operator in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

) put out a tender for the supply of a total of 620 city buses, although the order was divided into several batches. One of these batches, covering 225 vehicles, was won by Solaris. The contract entailed the delivery of 150 articulated Urbino 18 buses and 75 Urbino 12 buses of the third generation. The deliveries of buses were spread in time, from the end of 2007 and over the first half of 2008. One novelty applied in the buses for the Dubai RTA was a more efficient air-conditioning system and systems protecting the engine from sand storms. Special curtains of cool air have been applied in the buses, too, to prevent heat from entering the bus through open doors.

SWRT Wallonia

Société Régionale Wallonne du Transport Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

(regional carrier of the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

region of

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

) ordered 208 hybrid buses of Solaris in 2017. Under the EUR 105 million commission the producer supplied Solaris Urbino 12 Hybrid buses of the 4 generation. The deliveries were spread over a period of two years – 97 buses were supplied in 2017 and another 111 were shipped over in 2018.

MZA Warsaw

In March 2019, Solaris won the tender organized by MZA Warsaw, the subject of which was the delivery of 130 electric buses. The contract was signed on July 22, 2019. The vehicles will take to the streets of Warsaw in 2019 and 2020. The contract is worth PLN 399.5 million (roughly 89.5 million euro) and was the largest electric bus order to date in Europe. Solaris submitted the only tender.

ATM Milan

In July 2019, Solaris won an order for the supply of 250 electric buses with a length of 12 m for a carrier from

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, winning the bid against Mercedes. It was a tender for electric buses worth up to EUR 192 million.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solaris Bus and Coach Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles Electric bus manufacturers Hybrid electric bus manufacturers Polish brands Tram manufacturers Trolleybus manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1999 1999 establishments in Poland Electric vehicle manufacturers of Poland