OUR COMPANY STORY

• 1972: School Bus Parts of Canada came to Canada on June 23rd, 1972. It was a humble beginning, operating out of the coach house on the personal property of Jim Reavell.
• 1976: A first expansion was necessary to provide more space for the new line of heavy-duty exhaust systems manufactured by School Bus Parts of Canada of Pennsylvania, plus provide needed space for the growth of the first four years.
• 1982: A new location was purchased to meet our next expansion. The opportunity arose when the Province of Ontario mandated Stop Arms for all school buses in Ontario. School Bus Parts of Canada was formed to be our manufacturing division. We embraced the challenge and tooled to meet this demand, becoming the second manufacturer of this safety product in North America. A number of Provincial and State mandated retrofit opportunities presented themselves over the next few years.
• 1987: School Bus Parts of Canada began research and development of electric-operated Stop Arms and Crossing Gates.
• 1990: The development of new stop arm technology and the granting of new patents attracted interest both for retrofit opportunities and from school bus manufacturers. All this turned our plant into a busy place.
• 1991: The introduction of the Yellow Polycarbon Crossing Gate.
• 1994: Traffic sign manufacture began with the idea of marketing the triangular red reflective off-cuts from our Stop Arms for use as snowmobile trail markers. This led to snowmobile clubs developing a signage program to help make the sport organized and safer.
• 1995: 911-property identification came on the scene, and every rural address had to have a number sign. We invested in more leading-edge printing and sign-making equipment to meet this need.
• 1996: With increase customer contact resulting from the 911 program, Municipal Traffic Signage became a natural expansion strategy. We had the equipment, the manufacturing capacity, and were accustomed to the high standards of production to meet the safety requirements of the school bus industry.
• 1997: Expansion to a larger plant was necessary to accommodate new demands for our Stop arms and Crossing Gates from School Bus Manufacturers, and to meet the growing retrofit after-market.
• 2001: The BMR 8000 series Stop Arm and Crossing Gate assemblies were born. If you asked school bus mechanics how they felt about crossing gates, you would generally receive a very negative response: "The unit is located in the worst possible place and built with switches and relays which are all sensitive to the weather. It is attached to a vibrating bumper and bombarded with salt, grit, ice and all manner of road debris. It freezes, it thaws, it is baked in the summer. And you expect me to keep this thing working?" The BMR 8000 series takes all the weather sensitive parts out of the assembly. Mounted safely in the electrical panel, this is the first remote electronic Crossing Gate and Stop Arm controller.
• 2001: Development of a moulded poly-carbonate Crossing and Stop Arm Assembly - non-rusting, assembled with common stainless steel bolts and nuts for easy maintenance.
• 2002: The innovative Permanent Magnetic Gate Lock. This device secures the crossing gate to the front of the bumper. This new-to-the-industry product reduces the wind effect on the arm, whether running or parked. The Permanent Magnetic Gate Lock eliminates the problem of wind, for example, off an open field or from the ocean, which can catch the arm and cause unnecessary damage or wear.
• 2003: The addition of the Brake Test to the BMR 8000 series safety system of Stop Arms and Crossing Gates. To date, many bus drivers simply jam a stick between the brake pedal and the driver's seat to activate the brake lights while they do their circle check. The BMR brake test simplifies this procedure. To activate, step on the brake and push a momentary switch. The brake lights flash for one minute or switch off when the brake is applied. 2004: The development of L.E.D. lighting is one of our newest challenges. This technology provides a brighter and ultra-reliable light source for our high quality Stop Arms.
• 2005 : The development of contoured Crossing Gate Arms, an original development of School Bus Parts of Canada in 1991.
• 2009 : The addition of a full-sized Digital Printer at School Bus Parts of Canada, allowing for multi-colored digital prints to be added to our growing business.
• 2009: Demand for a mounting bracket that would allow two Chevron's to be mounted on the same post for opposite directions allowed us to come out with this very unique and innovative product.
• 2012: In order to meet the ever growing demands of our customers, School Bus Parts of Canada developed a flip sign to change the RB-76 sign from a 60 day sign, to be a 365 day sign with a unique message to be posted on the reverse of the side.
• 2014: Development of a 90 cm x 120 cm work stand, allowing for Do Not Enter and Road Closed signs to be put in an A-Frame, Aluminum, No-Pinch work stand.
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