Businessman picks up new duties for old school buses

Ellsworth company ships Valley’s used vehicles south of border

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

Myers Equipment

Video

Myers Equipment of Ellsworth, OH has found a unique niche exporting used school buses to Central America, Motion graphics by Dan Wegendt

ELLSWORTH — The school bus that travels up and down your street each day could be on the verge of a much more interesting second life.

A growing number of buses that are no longer wanted by area school districts are being sent to Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and other countries south of the border.

“The life of these buses is by no means exhausted,” said Craig Myers, a local businessman who helps arrange the buses’ new lives as public transportation in a foreign land.

After about 15 years of hauling schoolchildren, the buses have 15 more years of tough duty ahead of them.

On a trip to Peru, Myers saw former school buses crammed with local residents, some of whom were hanging out of windows and others who were perched on the top with their chicken cages.

“It was just like in the movies,” said Myers, who is president of Myers Equipment in Ellsworth, a third-generation business that began selling new school buses in 1937.

Sales of new buses still make up the biggest part of the business, but the company is increasing its sales of used buses and related parts to entrepreneurs from south of the border.

Last year, the business on U.S. Route 224 sold 80 buses that were taken to foreign countries, and about 40 more were dismantled so the parts could be used to repair buses in those countries.

The parts head south in one of two ways. First, the buses that are driven to the foreign markets are filled with parts before they leave, so the entrepreneurs can make money by selling the buses and the parts.

Also, Myers Equipment packs parts into about 10 shipping containers a year, and those containers head to foreign ports by sea. Each container carries about 40,000 pounds of parts.

For a while, a buyer was taking buses and shipping them to Africa, but he hasn’t been back in a while.

The number of buses and parts sent south of the border are double what they were 10 years ago.

Foreign buyers like Ohio buses because the state has stringent regulations for its school fleet, Myers said. State rules require upgrades over federal standards in brakes, axles and other items, he said.

Because people south of the border know that Ohio buses can take a beating, Myers Equipment has been able to build its export business without marketing. The sales to foreign entrepreneurs began about 30 years ago and have continued to grow by word of mouth.

An experienced buyer usually shows up with one or two other drivers. If there are three people, they either will buy three buses and drive them back separately, or they will buy six buses, hook them together in pairs and then head south.

Once those helpers get some experience, they often show up at Myers Equipment on their own. They usually start by buying one bus and filling it up with parts. After making some money, they return to buy more buses the next time.

Myers Equipment sells the used buses for between $1,500 and $4,000.

The export sales make up less than 10 percent of revenue for the company, but it still is an important part of the business, Myers said.

The sales provide the company with an outlet for the buses that it takes in trade from school districts, he said. Because the company knows it can make money on the old buses, it can give schools better deals on new buses, which cost about $80,000 each, he said.

The desire to create some value out of used buses led the company to buy a crusher in 1981. If a used bus can’t be sold, the parts are removed and the crusher smashes the bus body into a 15-inch high pile of scrap.

Myers Equipment crushes between 150 and 175 buses a year and sells them to a scrapyard.

The business normally sells about 350 new buses a year, though sales have been down about 40 percent in each of the past two years. It sells Thomas buses, which are owned by Freightliner, in 45 counties in Ohio and 26 counties in Pennsylvania.

Its No. 2 seller is commercial buses, which go to transit authorities, airports and retirement centers. It also sells truck bodies, snowplows and other truck equipment and ambulances.

The business was founded by Craig’s grandfather, Paul Myers, who started selling Reo cars and trucks about 1920. The business had its offices in Canfield until 1999, when CVS bought its Main Street property to put up a drugstore.

Many of the Myers Equipment’s 50 employees are family members, with some of the senior members overseeing the company’s various sales divisions.

Craig’s father, Dave Myers, ran the company for many years with his brother, Richard, who has retired. Dave Myers, however, is still at work at age 81.

He said the secret to keeping a family business going for so long is teaching family members the value of hard work when they are young. Then when they are ready for positions of responsibility, they won’t let up, he said.

Dave Myers still enjoys pitching in at the business. His favorite job is delivering new buses to school officials he has dealt with over the years.

“I wash the bus. I deliver the bus. Whatever needs to be done, we do it,” he said.

shilling@vindy.com