AT THE CUTTING EDGE
In 1985 two friends, John Turton and Lester Hobbs, set up shop in the South Island town of Ashburton, just over an hour’s drive south of Christchurch. Their aim was quite simple: to manufacture good quality buses.
The business originally operated from a relatively small shed and employed a workforce of just four people, but in spite of all that had produced its first bus in the incredibly short timeframe of eight months.
From that point in time, work came rolling in, requiring the company to move to larger premises – not just once but twice – so it could fill an increasing number of orders.
Today, GBV has its head office and manufacturing facility situated
