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BIAMAX ''(Proper Greek pronunciation Viamax)'' was a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
vehicle manufacturer. In the late 70's it was one of the biggest Greek companies, operating three factories (in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, where its headquarters were located,
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
and
Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
) and several other auxiliary facilities throughout the country. In addition, BIAMAX became a leading industry in Greece, in areas including Quality Assurance, technical training, process documentation and Research & Development. Although its main activity was vehicle manufacture (in the late 1970s its industrial sector employed more than 2,000), some of its subsidiaries were also involved in areas like tourist services, exports of farm products and shipping.


Early activities

Its origins date back to the 1930s when the Fostiropoulos family became importers of
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
vehicles. The company with that name was founded in 1956, the name reflecting its original activity, as it started with production of bus bodies on
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
chassis (BIAMAX, stands for "Biomihania Amaxomaton", or "Vehicle Body Building Industry"; the name was retained although the company soon became a complete vehicle producer).


Original developments

The first chassis developed by BIAMAX was introduced in January, 1960. In the same year the famous ''R'' series of coaches and inter-city buses was introduced. One of the earliest chassisless bus designs in the world, it was an engineering achievement involving novel approaches in suspension and structure, developed by the engineers Antonios Rizos (who lent his name initial to the series) and Ioannis Dracoulis (who was responsible for its extremely elegant, streamlined design). Models R495 (inter-city bus) and R514 (coach) became common sights in the country, establishing the BIAMAX brand. In 1962 a trolleybus type (also chassisless) was designed and built, with ''
Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...
'' axles and transmission and ''CGE'' electricals; as an imported type was ordered for Athens, only one trolleybus was produced but it nonetheless entered service remaining in operation for more than 15 years.


1960s and 1970s: The "Golden Age"

The very successful ''F'' series of city and inter-city buses (named after Fostiropoulos initial, a designation used earlier as well) was introduced in 1965 employing a ladder-type chassis developed by BIAMAX, and, as most of its products,
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
engines. The most common types produced were the F530 and F580, with several body variations for a variety of end uses. At the same time BIAMAX introduced railway wagons, and kept producing an extended range of bus and truck bodies, assembling 4x4's and tractors etc., with thousands of vehicles coming out of its factories, many of which were exported to a large number of countries, mainly in Europe, Asia and Africa; at times the company exported as much as 50% of its production. One of the most notable models specifically developed for Africa and the Middle East was the "Desert Bus", an extremely rugged construction whose production started in 1963, for long distance travel with cross-country and extra load capabilities (including the capability to carry tons of load on its roof), optionally with A/C, beds, toilets etc. F580 types can be seen to this date working hard in the Middle East. Indeed, the legendary reliability of BIAMAX buses can be testified by the large number of surviving examples, most of them in excellent working condition. One of the most successful ventures of Biamax was the production of
Mercedes-Benz O302 The Mercedes-Benz O302 was a coach chassis manufactured by Mercedes-Benz between 1965 and 1974. History The Mercedes-Benz O302 was launched in May 1965 as a replacement for the O321. It was manufactured by Mercedes-Benz's Mannheim plant. Its bod ...
and O303 coaches, including variants like the O302S2 type, which essentially was a "blend" of both models.


Evolutions after 1980

The company faced difficulties in the early 1980s when some Middle Eastern markets were lost but, mostly, due to the new laws allowing import of used buses in Greece. The entry of Greece to the European Communities canceled the Greek "protectionist" laws for the local automobile industry and the duties for importing foreign vehicles. In 1986 it ceased production, focusing on vehicle import and distribution. Since 1999, after an attempt by Sfakianakis S.A. to acquire the company was not completed (Sfakianakis acquired only the truck and tractor importing division), all trading activity ceased as well; former parts of the company have focused on shipping and other activities and what is left of BIAMAX operates to date as a real estate management firm. The old industry facilities on Athinon Avenue remain abandoned.


External links


Greek bus builders in Bus-planet.com


References

*L.S. Skartsis and G.A. Avramidis, "Made in Greece", Typorama, Patras, Greece (2003) (republished by the University of Patras Science Park, 2007)
L.S. Skartsis, "Greek Vehicle & Machine Manufacturers 1800 to present: A Pictorial History", Marathon (2012)
(eBook) *
G.N. Georgano George Nicolas "Nick" Georgano (29 February 1932 – 22 October 2017Nick Georgano
Alvis Archive Bl ...
(Ed.), "The Complete Encyclopedia of Commercial Vehicles", Krause Publication, Iola, Wisconsin (1979) *Denis Miller, "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trucks and Buses", New Burlington Books, London (1982) *"Eleftheria" newspaper, July 8, 1960, p. 4 (introduction of Biamax R-series) {{Automotive industry in Greece Bus manufacturers of Greece Manufacturing companies based in Athens Greek brands Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1956 Greek companies established in 1956