High Point, N.C. – Thomas Built Buses customers in California will soon benefit from the combined resources of two of the regions most respected bus distributors. BusWest acquired Fresno based California Bus Sales, which has a strong presence in central and northern California. Both companies are Thomas Built Buses dealers.

“Combining the employee expertise and maintenance facilities of the two companies will allow them to provide an unprecedented level of service,” said Ken Hedgecock, vice president of sales, marketing and service for Thomas Built Buses. “Customers will have a new single point of contact for sales, service, parts and training.”

“We are excited about the strong, focused team that this merger creates,” said Bill Webster, president of BusWest. “Work will continue out of both the Carson and Fresno locations and the new organization will continue work under the BusWest banner.”

BusWest, a division of Los Angles Freightliner, is headquartered in Carson, Calif., and has dealerships in Fontana, Ontario, Rancho Dominquez, San Diego and Whittier, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nevada. It is one of the largest bus dealerships in the western United States and sells new vehicles in California, Nevada, Hawaii and Arizona.

California Bus Sales was founded in 1986 and occupies a 12,000 sq. ft. facility on five acres in Fresno, Calif. The company’s sales personnel are located throughout northern, central and southern California.

Celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, Thomas Built Buses (www.thomasbus.com) is the leading manufacturer of school buses in North America, with more than one-third of the market. Since the first Thomas Built bus rolled off the assembly line in 1936, the company has focused entirely on delivering the smartest, safest and most innovative buses in North America.

Thomas Built Buses is a member of the Freightliner Group, the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America and a leading manufacturer of class 3-8 vehicles. The Freightliner Group produces and markets commercial vehicles under the Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses nameplates. Freightliner is a company of DaimlerChrysler, the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer.