The Wright Way: Reminiscences of 60 Years of Coach Building in Ballymena

2010 | Transportation

Travel anywhere in the United Kingdom by public transport today and the chances are high that at some stage you will use the products of a factory in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. That modern, hi-tech factory is at Galgorm and is the home of The Wright Group of companies, but known to most in the industry simply as Wrights of Ballymena. Jack Kernohan joined Wrights in 1955, just nine years after the business had been started by local man Bob Wright, and stayed there until his retirement from the post of Sales Director in 2005. This book isn't a history, it's Jack's reminiscences of the development of what is today a major player in the United Kingdom bus market. He takes us though the early years, when vans and mobile shops were the staple, to building trucks and trailers and, eventually, on to the high quality buses with which the company has become synonymous. The success of the company is founded on its people, most of them local to the Ballymena area, but Jack pays tribute in this work to one man in particular who, like his father, had the vision to see where the industry needed to go and was prepared to put his money into developing new products. That man was William Wright.

In the pages of this book, Jack takes us through the development of the Wright product range, introduces us to some of the industry's personalities and lightens the story with some amusing tales. As well as the UK market, we also get an insight into export orders such as the Bedfords built for Africa, the Wright Bus for Kowloon Motor Bus in Hong Kong and the stunning StreetCar RTV for Southern Nevada RTC. Jack rounds off with a look a some of the products built since his retirement. Of course, he hasn't forgotten those who made it all happen and we meet some of the staff who've helped make the company the success it is today.

Jack Kernohan (Author)