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IC Bus is an American bus manufacturer headquartered in Lisle, Illinois. A wholly owned subsidiary of Navistar International Corporation, IC specializes in school buses and multi-function school activity buses (MFSABs). In addition to school buses, the company produces commercial vehicles derived from their school bus products as well as dedicated shuttle buses. The company was established by Navistar in 2002 through the reorganization of its subsidiary bus manufacturer American Transportation Corporation (AmTran). Through AmTran, IC traces its roots back to the 1933 founding of Ward Body Works in Conway, Arkansas. The IC company name is an abbreviation of Integrated Coach (previously Integrated Chassis), alluding to the single corporate structure (Navistar International) that produces the bus body, chassis, and engine. All buses are produced with Navistar International chassis and engines (the latter, prior to 2015), and all bodies are produced at the IC manufacturing facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma. == Background == The body manufacturing operations of IC Bus trace their origin to 1933 in Conway, Arkansas. Blacksmith D.H. "Dave" Ward entered school bus production when he "lowered the roof of a wooden bus for Mr. Carl Brady of the Southside Schools"; the same year, Ward Body Works became one of the first school bus manufacturers to produce a school bus with an all-steel body.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Ward had idea and ran with it )〕 Following the era after World War II, Ward would become one of the largest manufacturers of school bus bodies in North America, employing up to 1200 workers at its peak. 〔 During the 1960s, Ward was responsible for notable innovations including the use of computers in manufacturing (using IBM 360s), rollover testing, and various manufacturing process improvements. During the 1970s, the company fell on hard times. In 1975, a newly opened production facility in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania was forced to close due to slowing sales. In 1976, Ward produced a prototype front-wheel drive transit-style school bus that did not enter production. In the late 1970s, as student populations declined, overall demand for school buses fell; the company filed for bankruptcy; the Ward plant was closed in July 1980.〔(Arkansas' 'auto' plant still going strong after 75 years. - Free Online Library )〕 To restore bus production in Arkansas, an investment group coordinated was formed with help by then-Governor Bill Clinton to purchase the assets of Ward Industries.〔 While the Ward name would remain in place on the school buses themselves, the newly christened company was now American Transportation Corporation (AmTran). In 1991, one-third of AmTran was purchased by its largest chassis supplier, Navistar International. During 1992, the Ward name began to disappear from AmTran-bodied buses. In 1995, the remaining two-thirds of the company was purchased by Navistar, becoming the first body manufacturer to be acquired by a chassis supplier. In 1999, AmTran announced plans to build a new facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma to build conventional buses. Rebranded from ''AmTran CS'' to ''International IC'', the company would eventually adopt the IC name entirely in 2002.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「IC Bus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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