Team expansion as NI’s Wrightbus continues to grow

The newly-created role, which will see an experienced sales manager oversee the North of England regions, comes on the back of a flurry of zero-emission orders in the UK, Ireland and overseas.

Wrightbus is set to double production this year compared to 2021, and will see a significant switch in output from 70% diesel buses in 2021 to around 70% zero-emission buses in 2022.

Director of sales and business development John McLeister, said: “We’re delighted to be expanding the sales team at Wrightbus this year. We already boosted our team earlier this year to support the company’s continued growth, so to be recruiting again is fantastic.

“It’s been a phenomenal year already and we’re excited for the rest of 2022. We need more talented, experienced sales managers to join our world-leading team and we’re looking forward to hearing from potential candidates.”.

Wrightbus has a proud history with more than 75 years of manufacturing buses, but when it was bought out of administration by green entrepreneur Jo Bamford in October 2019, only 56 staff remained in the business.

Just over two years on, and largely thanks to its new zero emission products, Wrightbus is now on track to employ more than 900 staff this year once its latest recruitment drive is complete.

Continuing to steal a march on the UK bus industry, the firm currently has the largest fleet of hydrogen buses in Europe and second largest in the world, with 90 in operation across the UK and Ireland.

It also comes off the back of the company’s international landmark deal with Australia’s leading bus body builder Volgren. Wrightbus hopes the first two buses will be the start of many as Australia looks to replace tens of thousands of buses with zero-emission vehicles over the next decade to hit its net zero commitments.

The firm has also recently landed major deals in Germany and the RoI and is in discussions with operators from the USA, South America and the Far East as authorities race to hit net zero targets.

READ MORE: Continued growth sees Wrightbus open onsite recruitment office