By Margaret Canning
January 29 2020 21:00 PM
The owner of Ballymena manufacturer Wrightbus has said he hopes to win government funding to extend its technology for hydrogen-fuelled buses.
Jo Bamford said he needed a windfarm to help develop Wrightbus's technology for building the buses which - along with batteries - are one of two options for zero-emissions buses.
Mr Bamford, whose father is the chairman of manufacturing giant JCB, paid £6m to buy the famous Northern Ireland business after it collapsed into administration last year with debts of £60m.
The Wrightbus executive chairman was in Belfast yesterday to launch a pilot project for fuel cell electric double-decker buses powered by hydrogen.
In a £4m investment, they will be made for Translink, working with energy giant Energia.
Welcoming the scheme, Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon said: "It represents a significant first step to tackling the climate emergency we face and demonstrates how working together and as individuals we can play our part in delivering the ambitions of the Northern Ireland Executive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality."
Translink Group chief executive Chris Conway said the collaboration would "not only reduce carbon emissions but will also generate much wider environmental, economic and social benefits".
Around 1,200 people lost their jobs when Wrightbus collapsed, but Mr Bamford said the workforce had now reached around 400 and he was travelling far and wide to build up orders.
He added the order book was already "half full" for the year ahead and he hoped to confirm more orders soon after travelling to Hong Kong last week.
The new owner revealed he had shaken the hand of Wrightbus founder Sir William Wright, who stressed there were no problems over the deal.
"He's 93 years old and he knows more about buses than I'll ever know. I shook his hand and he said, 'Look, absolutely no hard feelings whatsoever'," he added.
"I asked him to come to the bus factory to give me some advice and he was very welcoming and open to that."
Mr Bamford is the grandson of JCB founder Cyril Bamford, who built up a massive agriculture and industrial equipment company which remains in the private ownership of the family.
"Sir William reminds of the my grandfather," he said.
But he would not comment on a well-publicised wrangle during negotiations with Sir William's son Jeff Wright - then the company's owner - over the future ownership of land on the Wrightbus site.
And while the old owners had attracted criticism for making donations to Jeff Wright's evangelical church Green Pastures, Mr Bamford said he believed religion and business should be separate.
Praising Wrightbus staff, he said: "They're very hardworking. We have quite a task ahead of us."
He added that "it's a great business and the workforce have really pulled together in very difficult times".
The collapse of Wrightbus in August came after prolonged trading difficulties, caused by a downturn in the bus market in Great Britain and legacy issues, including the cost of relocating to the old JTI Gallaher's in Ballymena.
Mr Bamford said: "When we took over there were only 40 people left in the business so clearly they'd been through a very bruising experience but you know, all I can say is they're really great."
