verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message girardin minibus industry transportation founded 1935 1 founder lionel girardin headquarters 3000 girardin drummondville quebec j2e 0a1 products school buses commercial buses services bus sales blue bird divisions micro bird inc joint venture with blue bird website http www.girardin.com girardin minibus inc. based in drummondville quebec canada manufactures buses exclusively for the smaller type a market ; these buses are based on chassis provided from ford or general motors . girardin is also a canadian distributor of blue bird school and commercial buses . as production of the corbeil brand has shifted south of the border to the kansas facility of collins industries girardin is currently the lone canadian manufacturer of school buses . contents 1 history 2 joint ventures 2.1 blue bird mb ii mb iv by girardin 1992 1999 2.2 micro bird inc. 2009 present 3 models 4 see also 5 external links 6 references history edit blue bird by girardin mb ii girardin mb ii rear view girardin traces its roots to 1935 when company founder lionel girardin opened a used car dealership and repair shop in st f lix de kingsey quebec . 1 he expanded into new car sales in 1953 by opening a chrysler dealership . in 1958 girardin entered the school bus market by becoming a school bus dealership . in 1965 girardin opened a bus dealership in drummondville quebec ; along with bus sales girardin converted vans into minibuses some of the first type a school buses . in 1981 a dedicated factory was built to keep up with demand ; the factory was expanded in 1991 and again in 2000 . in 1991 girardin minibus introduced the mb ii and mb iv school buses ; from 1992 to 1999 these were distributed throughout north america using the blue bird by girardin name . in 2005 the mb iv was replaced with the g5 a redesigned dual rear wheel type a school bus . in 2009 blue bird corporation entered into a joint venture with girardin to produce type a school buses . under the terms of the joint venture blue bird s micro bird in production since 1975 was phased out and replaced by girardin designed products built in drummondville . joint ventures edit girardin minibus has twice entered into partnerships with a larger bus manufacturer ; both have been with american manufacturer blue bird corporation . blue bird mb ii mb iv by girardin 1992 1999 edit from 1992 to 1999 girardin and blue bird were in a partnership to sell the mb ii and mb iv type a school buses in north america . at the time girardin was little known outside of quebec and blue bird s own micro bird was not available in the single rear wheel configuration that the mb ii offered . after 1999 girardin chose to market the mb school buses under its own brand name . micro bird inc. 2009 present edit in october 2009 girardin re entered into a joint venture with blue bird . this partnership named micro bird inc resulted in the micro bird model being discontinued as type a school bus construction was transferred from blue bird s georgia facility to girardin s drummondville facility . type a school buses built by girardin are now branded as blue bird micro bird by girardin . 2 the first ever type a school bus built on ford transit chassis replaced the ford e series . known as micro bird t series . models edit girardin product lineup model name g5 mb ii mb iv image body configuration dual rear wheels single rear wheels dual rear wheels versions school bus commercial bus school bus commercial bus multi function school activity bus mfsab school bus commercial bus chassis supplier ford general motors ford general motors ford general motors maximum seating capacity 30 school bus 25 commercial bus 20 school bus 12 commercial bus 14 mfsab notes the g5 was introduced in 2005 as a replacement for the mb iv line . will replace the blue bird micro bird under the micro bird inc. joint venture with blue bird corporation school bus version distributed in the united states as a blue bird from 1992 to 1999 mfsab version sold as an alternative to 15 passenger vans . school bus version distributed in the united states as a blue bird from 1992 to 1999 replaced by g5 product line . see also edit buses portal blue bird corporation distributor of girardin products in united states ; girardin is distributor of blue birds in canada . cutaway van chassis les enterprises michel corbeil former canadian competing manufacturer of small school buses external links edit girardin minibus wikimedia commons has media related to girardin buses . references edit a b history . retrieved 2010 01 23 . press releases blue bird and girardin announce joint venture 2009 10 19 . retrieved 2010 01 23 . v t e north american bus builders active blue bird corporation dina s.a. environmental performance vehicles ford motor company gillig corporation girardin minibus glaval bus ic bus lion bus millennium transit services new flyer industries motor coach industries new flyer north american bus industries nova bus optima bus corporation proterra inc. prevost car rev group champion bus incorporated collins bus corporation eldorado national goshen coach setra stallion bus and transit corp. starcraft bus thomas built buses trans tech van con defunct acf brill aerocoach am general amtran beck canadian car and foundry carpenter body company crown coach corporation dupont industries eagle bus fageol fifth avenue bus company fitzjohn flxible general motors diesel division gm coach gm truck and coach division kenworth lag motorcoach les enterprises michel corbeil mack trucks marmon herrington masa neoplan usa orion international pullman standard st. louis car company superior coach company transportation manufacturing corporation twin coach u.s. bus corporation ward body works wayne corporation wayne wheeled vehicles white motor company yellow coach manufacturing company v t e school bus manufacturers north america active manufacturers full size and small buses blue bird corporation small buses made by girardin minibus ic bus lion bus full size buses only thomas built buses inc small buses only collins industries collins mid bus corbeil girardin minibus renamed micro bird by girardin starcraft bus trans tech van con defunct manufacturers including date of closure or last school bus manufacture 2000s carpenter industries inc 2001 american transportation corporation amtran 2002 ; became ic bus les enterprises michel corbeil 2008 ; acquired by collins liberty bus 2005 u.s. bus corporation 1990s coach and equipment manufacturing 1999 ; still in business crown coach corporation 1991 gillig corporation 1993 ; still in business mid bus 1998 ; acquired by collins tam usa 1991 wayne corporation 1992 ; became wayne wheeled vehicles wayne wheeled vehicles 1995 1980s ward body works 1980 ; became amtran new bus company 1989 superior coach company 1985 1970s northern coach perley a. thomas car works 1972 ; became thomas built buses 1960s hackney brothers body company 1966 1950s kenworth pacific 1957 ; still in business list of school bus manufacturers v t e automotive industry in canada automotive industry economy of canada transport in canada active manufacturers cambli international cami canadian electric vehicles conquest vehicles inc. dupont dynesty electric vehicles girardin minibus htt automotive lion bus new flyer pr vost nova bus tav timmis t rex vehicles inc. defunct manufacturers acadian mclaughlin orion international russell components electrovaya fountain tire linamar magna international multimatic subsidiaries of foreign companies byd auto canada chrysler canada ford canada general motors canada honda canada toyota canada related topics canadian international autoshow montreal international auto show trans canada highway transport canada transportation safety board of canada retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title girardin minibus & oldid 701685076 categories drummondvilleschool busesschool bus manufacturersbus manufacturersblue bird corporationmanufacturing companies of canadamotor vehicle manufacturers of canadamotor vehicle assembly plants in canadamotor vehicle manufacturers based in quebecmanufacturing companies established in 19351935 establishments in quebechidden categories articles needing additional references from april 2010all articles needing additional referencescommons category with local link same as on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version in other projects wikimedia commons languages add links this page was last modified on 25 january 2016 at 23 32 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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